UC-NRLF 


B    3    272    3MD 


DR.    (iODMAN 

oC  a 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


RAMBLES  OF  A  NATURALIST. 


BY 


JOHN    D.    GODMAN,   M.    D 


TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED 


of  a 


to 


REYNELL  COATES,  M.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

THOMAS    T.     ASH KEY     AND     BIDDLE. 

1833. 


PREFACE. 


The  beautiful  sketches,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Ram- 
bles of  a  Naturalist,"  which  first  appeared  in  "The 
Friend,"  a  religious  and  literary  weekly  journal  of  this 
city,  were  lately  published  collectively  in  Waldie's  Select 
Circulating  Library,  and  being  deemed  worthy  of  still 
further  dissemination,  they  have  been  dressed  in  the 
present  garb,  and  thus  offered  to  public  patronage. 
Though  they  were  dashed  off  on  the  spur  of  the  occa- 
sion, they  possess  all  the  characteristic  freshness  and 
vigour  of  the  author's  style,  and  were  among  the  last  ef- 
fusions of  his  vigorous  mind.  They  were  written  while 
he  was  confined  to  the  bed  of  sickness,  from  which  he 
was  removed  in  a  few  weeks  afterwards  to  the  tomb 
and  the  series  consequently  interrupted.  The  sale  of 
the  present  edition  may  contribute  to  more  pious  uses 
than  mere  commercial  profits. 


6  PREFACE. 

Asa  suitable  accompaniment,  the  "  Reminiscences" 
of  Dr.  Reynell  Coates,  likewise  first  published  in  "  The 
Friend,"  have  been  appended ;  the  whole  forming  a 
delightful  pocket  companion  for  a  spring  or  summer 
ramble. 

The  biographical  sketch  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Drake, 
of  Cincinnati,  and  first  appeared  in  the  "  Western  Jour- 
nal of  the  Medical  and  Physical  Sciences." 

"The  great  characteristics  of  Dr.  Godman's  mind," 
says  a  friend,  who  knew  him  well,  "  were  his  retentive 
memory,  an  unwearied  industry  and  quick  perception, 
and  his  capacity  of  concentrating  all  his  powers  upon 
any  given  object  of  pursuit.  What  he  had  once  read  or 
observed,  he  rarely,  if  ever,  forgot.  Hence  it  was,  that 
although  his  early  education  was  much  neglected,  he 
became  an  excellent  linguist,  and  made  himself  master 
of  Latin,  French,  and  German,  besides  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  Greek,  Italian  and  Spanish.  He  had  read 
the  best  works  in  all  these  languages,  and  wrote  with 
facility  the  Latin  and  French. 

"  His  powers  of  observation  were  quick,  patient,  keen 
and  discriminating  ;  and  it  was  these  qualities  that  ren- 
dered him  so  admirable  a  naturalist.  He  came  to  the 
study  of  natural  history  as  an  investigator  of  facts,  and 
not  as  a  pupil  of  the  schools ;  and  while  he  regarded 
systems  and  nomenclature  with  perhaps  too  little  respect, 
his  great  aim  was  to  learn  the  instincts,  the  structure  and 
the  habits  of  all  animated  beings.  This  science  was  his 


PREFACE.  7 

favourite  pursuit,  and  he  devoted  himself  to  it  with  inde- 
fatigable zeal.  He  has  been  heard  to  say,  that  in  investi- 
gating the  habits  of  the  shrew  mole,  he  walked  many 
hundred  miles.  Those  parts  of  his  natural  history  in 
which  he  relates  the  results  of  his  own  observation,  are 
among  the  most  interesting  essays  on  that  subject  in  our 
language.  This  praise  is  due  in  a  still  greater  degree  to 
his  Rambles  of  a  Naturalist,  which  are  not  inferior  in 
poetical  beauty  and  vivid  and  accurate  description,  to  the 
celebrated  letters  of  Gilbert  White  on  the  Natural  History 
of  Selbourne.  These  essays  were  among  the  last  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen,  and  were  written  in  the  intervals  of 
acute  pain  and  extreme  debility.  They  form  a  mere 
sketch  of  what  he  intended,  and  had  he  lived  to  com- 
plete them,  he  would  have  left  a  work  and  a  name  of 
enduring  popularity. 

"  There  were  few  subjects  of  general  literature,  except- 
ing the  pufe  and  mixed  mathematics,  with  which  Dr. 
Godman  was  not  more  or  less  familiar.  Among  other 
pursuits  to  which  his  attention  had  been  turned,  was  the 
study  of  ancient  coins,  of  which  he  had  acquired  a  criti- 
cal knowledge. 

"  The  powers  of  his  mind  were  always  buoyant.  His 
eagerness  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  seemed  like  the 
impulse  of  gnawing  hunger  and  unquenchable  thirst. 
Neither  adversity  nor  disease  could  allay  it,  and  had  it 
pleased  Providence  to  heal  his  mortal  wound,  and  prolong 


8  PREFACE. 

his  life  and  strength,  he  would  have  borne  away  the  palm 
from  all  his  contemporaries. 

"The  fine  imagination  and  deep  enthusiasm  of  Dr. 
Godman  occasionally  burst  forth  in  impassioned  poetry. 
He  wrote  verse  and  prose  with  almost  equal  facility,  and 
had  he  lived  and  enjoyed  leisure  to  prune  the  exuber- 
ance of  his  style,  and  to  bestow  the  last  polish  upon  his 
labours,  he  would  have  ranked  as  one  of  the  great  mas- 
ters of  our  language,  both  in  regard  to  the  curious  felicity, 
and  the  strength  and  clearness  of  his  diction.  The  fol- 
lowing specimens  of  his  poetical  compositions  are  se- 
lected less  for  their  intrinsic  excellence,  than  for  the 
picture  which  they  furnish  of  his  private  meditations." 


PREFACE. 


A  MIDNIGHT  MEDITATION. 

'Tis  midnight's  solemn  hour  !  now  wide  unfurled 

Darkness  expands  her  mantle  o'er  the  world : 

The  fire-fly's  lamp  has  ceased  its  fitful  gleam 

The  cricket's  chirp  is  hushed ;  the  boding  scream 

Of  the  grey  owl  is  stilled ;  the  lofty  trees 

Scarce  wave  their  summits  to  the  failing  breeze  ; 

All  nature  is  at  rest,  or  seems  to  sleep  j 

'Tis  thine  alone,  oh  man !  to  watch  and  weep  ! 

Thine  'tis  to  feel  thy  system's  sad  decay, 

As  flares  the  taper  of  thy  life  away 

Beneath  the  influence  of  fell  disease  : — 

Thine  'tis  to  know  the  want  of  mental  ease 

Springing  from  memory  of  time  misspent; 

Of  slighted  blessings  ;  deepest  discontent, 

And  riotous  rebellion  'gainst  the  laws 

Of  health,  truth,  heaven,  to  win  the  world's  applause ! 

Such  was  thy  course,  Eugenio,  such  thy  hardened  heart, 

Till  mercy  spoke,  and  death  unsheathed  the  dart, 

Twanged  his  unerring  bow,  and  drove  the  steel, 

Too  deep  to  be  withdrawn,  too  wide  the  wound  to  heal ; 

Yet  left  of  life  a  feebly  glimmering  ray, 

Slowly  to  sink  and  gently  ebb  away. 


10  PREFACE. 

— And  yet,  how  blest  am  I  ? 

While  myriad  others  lie 

In  agony  of  fever  or  of  pain, 

With  parching  tongue  and  burning  eye, 

Or  fiercely  throbbing  brain ; 

My  feeble  frame,  though  spoiled  of  rest, 

Is  not  of  comfort  dispossest. 

My  mind  awake,  looks  up  to  thee, 

Father  of  mercy !  whose  blest  hand  I  see 

In  all  things  acting  for  our  good, 

Howe'er  thy  mercies  be  misunderstood. 


where  the  waning  moon 
Slowly  surmounts  yon  dark  tree  tops, 
Her  light  increases  steadily,  and  soon 
The  solemn  night  her  stole  of  darkness  drops  : 
Thus  to  my  sinking  soul  in  hours  of  gloom, 
The  cheering  beams  of  hope  resplendent  come, 
Thus  the  thick  clouds  which  sin  and  sorrow  rear 
Are  changed  to  brightness,  or  swift  disappear. 
Hark  !  that  shrill  note  proclaims  approaching  day ; 
The  distant  east  is  streaked  with  lines  of  gray  ; 
Faint  warblings  from  the  neighbouring  groves  arise, 
The  tuneful  tribes  salute  the  brightening  skies. 
Peace  breathes  around  ;  dim  visions  o'er  me  creep, 
The  weary  night  outwatched,  thank  God  !  I  too  may 
sleep. 


PREFACE.  1 1 


Lines  written  under  a  feeling  ef  the  immediate  approach 
of  Death. 

The  damps  of  death  are  on  my  brow,  the  chill  is  in  my 

heart, 
My  blood  has  almost  ceased  to  flow,  my  hopes  of  life 

depart ; 

The  valley  and  the  shadow  before  me  open  wide, 
But  thou,  Oh  Lord !  even  there  wilt  be  my  guardian  and 

my  guide. 

For  what  is  pain,  if  thou  art  nigh  its  bitterness  to  quell  ? 
And  where  death's  boasted  victory,  his  last  triumphant 

spell? 

Oh!  Saviour,  in  that  hour  when  mortal  strength  is  nought, 
When  nature's  agony  comes  on,  and  every  anguished 

thought 

Springs  in  the  breaking  heart  a  source  of  darkest  woe, 
Be  nigh  unto  my  soul,  nor  permit  the  floods  o'erflow. 
To  thee  !  to  thee  alone  !  dare  I  raise  my  dying  eyes; 
Thou  didst  for  all  atone,  by  thy  wondrous  sacrifice  ; 
Oh  !  in  thy  mercy's  richness  extend  thy  smiles  on  me, 
And  let  my  soul  outspeak  thy  praise  throughout  eternity  ! 


"  Beneath  the  above  stanzas  is  the  following  note: 
'  Rather  more  than  a  year  has  elapsed  since  the  above 
was  first  written.  Death  is  now  certainly  near  at  hand  ; 


12  PREFACE. 

but  my  sentiments  remain  unchanged,  except  that  my 
reliance  on  the  Saviour  is  stronger.' 

"  This  reliance  on  the  mercies  of  God  through  Christ 
Jesus,  became  indeed  the  habitual  frame  of  his  mind  ; 
and  imparted  to  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life  a  solemnity 
and  a  calmness,  a  sweet  serenity  and  a  holy  resignation, 
which  robbed  death  of  its  sting,  and  the  grave  of  its 
victory.  It  was  a  melancholy  sight  to  witness  the  pre- 
mature extinction  of  such  a  spirit ;  yet  the  dying  couch 
on  which  genius,  and  virtue,  and  learning  thus  lay 
prostrated,  beamed  with  more  hallowed  lustre,  and  taught 
a  more  salutary  lesson  than  could  have  been  imparted 
by  the  proudest  triumphs  of  intellect.  The  memory  of 
Dr.  Godman,  his  blighted  promise,  and  his  unfinished 
labours,  will  long  continue  to  call  forth  the  vain  regrets 
of  men  of  science  and  learning.  There  are  those  who 
treasure  up  in  their  hearts  as  a  more  precious  recollection, 
his  humble  faith  and  his  triumphant  death,  and  who  can 
meet  with  an  eye  of  pity,  the  scornful  glance  of  the 
scoffer,  and  the  infidel,  at  being  told  that  if  Dr.  Godman 
was  a  philosopher,  he  was  also  a  Christian." 


MEMOIR 


DR.  JOHN  D.  GODMAN 


Of  Dr.  Godman's  early  years,  we  have  received  a 
number  of  interesting  memoranda,  from  his  first  medical 
preceptor,  Dr.  Luckey,  now  of  Circleville,  in  this  state. 
According  to  this  gentleman,  Dr.  G.  was  born  at  Wil- 
mington, in  the  state  of  Delaware.  At  an  early  period 
he  lost  his  parents,  and  was  left  without  patrimony,  or 
deprived  of  it.  Dr.  Luckey  first  saw  him  in  1810,  when 
he  was  fifteen  years  old.  The  doctor  was,  at  that  time,  a 
senior  student  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond,  of 
Baltimore.  "  The  office,"  says  Dr.  L.,  "  was  fitted  up 
with  taste,  and  boys,  attracted  by  its  appearance,  would 
frequently  drop  in,  to  gaze  on  the  labelled  jars  and 
drawers.  Among  them  I  discovered,  one  evening,  an  in- 
teresting lad,  who  was  amusing  himself  with  the  manner 
in  which  his  comrades  pronounced  the  '  hard  words,' 
with  which  the  furniture  was  labelled.  He  appeared  to 
2 


14  ME3IOIR  OF 

be  quite  an  adept  in  the  Latin  language.  A  strong 
curiosity  soon  prompted  me  to  enquire  '  Who  are  you  ?' 
'  Don't  you  recollect,'  says  he,  *  that  you  visited  a  boy 
at  Mr.  Creery's,  who  had  a  severe  attack  of  bilious  colic  ?' 
'  I  do.  But  what  is  your  name,  my  little  boy  ?'  He 
was  small  of  his  age.  '  My  name,  sir,  is  John  D.  God- 
man.'  'Did  you  study  the  Latin  language  with  Mr. 
Creery  ?'  '  No,  he  does  not  teach  any  but  an  English 
school.'  '  Do  you  intend  to  prosecute  your  studies 
alone  ?'  '  I  do.  And  I  will,  if  I  live,  make  myself  a 
Latin,  Greek,  and  French  scholar." 

In  the  autumn  of  1811,  Dr.  Luckey  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Elizabethtown,  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  next  summer  received  a  letter  from  his  protege, 
stating  that  he  had  been  bound  an  apprentice  to  the 
printer  of  a  newspaper.  With  this  business,  he  was, 
from  the  beginning,  exceedingly  dissatisfied,  as  he  evinced 
in  his  numerous  letters  to  Dr.  Luckey. 

In  one  of  these,  dated  July  23d,  1812,  he  expressed  the 
opinion,  that  it  was  worse  than  "  cramping  his  genius 
over  a  pestle  and  mortar" — it  was  "  cramping  it  over  a 
font  of  types,  where  there  are  words  without  ideas." 

Addicted  to  reading,  and  aspiring  to  a  more  intellectual 
pursuit,  it  is  not  probable  that  our  young  printer  was 
much  devoted  to  the  drudgery  of  the  office,  or  performed 
his  duties  con  amore ;  which  may  sufficiently  explain  the 
origin  of  the  difficulties  set  forth  in  the  following 
paragraph  from  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  same. 


DR.  GODMAIS.  15 

"  Every  thing  is  in  slatu  quo  with  me.  The  same 
series  of  oppressions,  impositions  and  insults  are  still  my 
lot  to  bear.  But  I  will  not  bear  them  long.  From  the 
oldest  to  the  youngest,  master  and  man,  all  seem  to  have 
a  disposition  to  peck  at  me.  You  will  (or  may  be)  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  I  can  never  make  a  printer.  It  is  an 
erroneous  opinion  of  some  people,  that  no  one  can  make 
a  printer  unless  he  be  a  scholar.  On  the  contrary, 
scholars  can  hardly,  if  at  all,  be  printers.  I  would  not 
wish  you  to  think  that  1  count  myself  a  scholar.  On  the 
contrary  I  think  myself  no  scholar." 

The  following  extract  from  another  letter,  dated  Oc- 
tober 23d,  1813,  shows  that,  at  this  early  period,  young 
Godman  was  threatened  with  the  malady  which  ultimately 
destroyed  him. 

"  The  disease  for  which  I  mentioned  a  recipe  in  ray 
last  has  commenced  its  direful  effects  on  my  poor  body. 
A  continued  pain  in  iny  breast,  and  at  night  a  slow  but 
burning  fever,  convince  me  that  I  am  travelling  down  a 
much  frequented  road  to  the  place  where  disease  has  no 
effect.  This  my  friend  is  no  phantasy.  I  do  not  say  it 
irom  affectation.  I  feel  it  I  cannot  telieve  in  this 
disease  being  contagious,  or  I  should  be  certain  that  I 
have  caught  it.  I  sleep  with  a  youth  who  was  born  with 
it  and  has  it  fully." 

In  the  opinion  of  Dr.  L.,  the  deceased,  at  that  early 
period,  laboured  under  a  hypertrophy  of  the  heart. 

Through  the  whole  of  his  apprenticeship,  young  God- 


16  MEMOIR  OF 

man  had  a  strong  desire  to  study  medicine,  but  his 
guardian  was  opposed  to  any  change  of  destination. 
Early  in  the  month  of  January,  1814,  he  writes  to 
Dr.  L.— 

"At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Anderson,  I  have  deter- 
mined to  commence  the  study  of  chemistry,  as  he  says  it 
will  be  a  great  improvement  to  the  mind,  and  more  so, 
I  may  be  enabled,  the  ensuing  season  (if  I  should  live  so 
long)  to  attend  the  lectures  at  the  University  (of  Mary, 
land,)  and  it  seems  to  run  greatly  in  Dr.  A.'s  head  that  I 
shall  one  day  be  a  physician.  How  far  this  surmise  may 
be  right,  time  will  disclose.  It  may  indeed  so  happen, 
and  should  I  study  chemistry  now,  I  shall  not  have  it  to 
do  at  a  future  period.  I  must,  however,  ask  your  opinion 
in  this  affair." 

On  the  24th  of  the  same  month,  he  writes  to  the  same 
gentleman — 

"  I  have  read  the  catechetical  part  of  Parke's  Chemis- 
try, and  I  can  assure  you  I  liked  it  not  a  little.  But  my 
knowledge,  so  far  as  I  may  obtain  it,  will  only  be 
theoretical." 

In  the  same  letter  he  sets  forth  his  early  views  of  the 
Christian  religion : 

"  I  have  not  ever  had  a  fixed  determination  to  read  the 
works  of  that  Modern  Serpent,*  nor  had  I  determined 
not  to  do  it ;  and  it  seems  to  me  surprising,  that  a  fellow 

*  Thomas  Paine. 


DE.  GODMAX.  17 

student  of  yours  should  recommend  the  perusal  of  such 
writings  as  Thomas  Paine's. 

"  I  had,  thank  heaven,  before  I  asked  you  the  question, 
and  still  have,  the  "Apology  for  the  Bible,"  by  the  cele- 
brated Lord  Regius,  of  Landaff,  (Bishop  Watson.) 
There  is  a  great  comfort  in  the  belief  of  that  glorious 
doctrine  of  salvation,  that  teaches  us  to  look  to  the  Great 
Salvator  for  happiness  in  a  future  life  ;  and  it  has  always 
been  my  earnest  desire,  and  I  must  endeavour  to  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous,  that  my  last  end  and  future  state 
may  be  like  his.  It  would  be  a  poor  hope  indeed — it 
would  be  a  sandy  foundation  for  the  dying  soul,  to  have 
no  hope  but  such  as  might  be  derived  from  the  works  of 
Bolingbroke  and  Paine ;  and  how  rich  the  consolation 
and  satisfaction  afforded  by  the  glorious  tidings  of  the 
blessed  Scriptures.  It  is  my  opinion,  there  has  never  one 
of  these  modern  deists  died  as  their  writings  would  lead 
us  to  believe  ;  nor  are  but  few  of  their  writings  read  at 
the  present  day." 

In  the  year  1814,  when  the  war  raged  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, he  became  a  sailor  under  Com.  Barney,  and  was 
engaged  hi  the  service  at  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
IM'Henry.  Early  in  the  next  year,  Dr.  Luckey,  capti- 
vated by  his  genius,  and  touched  by  his  misfortunes,  re- 
solved  to  invite  him  to  his  house,  in  Elizabethtown,  and 
afford  him  all  the  facilities  in  his  power  for  studying  the 
profession  to  which  he  aspired.  It  does  not  appear  how 
he  had  rid  himself  of  his  apprenticeship;  but  he  seems  to 


18  MEMOIR  OF 

have  been  at  liberty  to  accept  the  doctor's  generous  invi- 
tation. This  he  did,  with  emotions  of  joy  which  are 
uttered  in  the  following  simple  and  affecting  reply,  dated 
April  4th,  1815. 

"  I  have  this  hour  received  your  last  letter,  and  I  can 
assure  you,  that  language  is  inadequate  to  express  to 
you  my  sincere,  unfeigned  joy,  for  the  pleasing  news  you 
have  communicated  to  me.  Let  the  manner  in  which 
these  lines  are  penned,  convince  you  of  the  state  of  my 
mind  at  present.  I  was,  thirty  minutes  before  I  received 
your  letter,  on  the  point  of  going  to  a  printer,  in  this 
city,  to  seek  employment,  and,  but  for  Providence,  I 
should  have  done  so.  You  may  suppose  that,  as  soon  as 
I  read  your  letter,  I  abandoned  this  intention  and  re- 
turned to  my  sister's  house,*  *  with  fire  in  each  eye  and 
paper  in  each  hand,'  to  answer  your  epistle  of  friendship's 
own  dictating.  I  must  lay  this  aside  for  a  short  time, 
till  my  mind  becomes  settled  and  undisturbed.  I  stopped 
at  the  line  above,  in  order  that  I  might  recover  a  small 
degree  of  composure,  in  order  to  express  myself  as  I 
ought,  to  so  good  a  friend.  I  will  certainly  comply  with 
your  request,  should  it  please  God  to  continue  my  health 
and  strength  during  the  ensuing  week.  Should  it  please 
the  mercy  of  Providence  to  suffer  me  to  take  up  my  re- 
sidence with  you,  I  shall  endeavour,  by  the  most  inde- 
fatigable study  and  diligence,  to  give  you  the  satisfaction 

*  Mrs.  Stella  Miller,  of  Baltimore. 


DR.  GODMAN.  19 

your  kindness  to  me  deserves.  I  am  in  hopes  that  I  shall 
be  able  to  come  some  day  in  the  course  of  the  next  week ; 
but,  as  my  journey  must  be  a  pedestrian  one,  I  should 
not  wish  to  mention  a  particular  day." 

"  On  the  10th  of  April,  four  days  after  the  date  of  this 
letter,  he  arrived,"  says  Dr.  L.,  "  at  my  house,  and  took 
up  his  residence  in  my  family.  He  made  his  promise 
good,  for  in  six  weeks  he  had  acquired  more  knowledge 
in  the  different  departments  of  medical  science,  than 
most  students  do  in  a  year.  During  this  short  period  he 
not  only  read  Chaptal,  Fourcroy,  Chesselden,  Murray, 
Brown,  Cullen,  Rush,  Sydenham,  Sharp,  and  Cooper,  but 
wrote  annotations  on  each,  including  critical  remarks  on 
the  incongruities  in  their  reasonings.  He  remained  with 
me  five  months,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  you  would 
have  imagined  from  his  conversation,  that  he  was  an 
Edinburgh  graduate.  When  he  sat  down  to  study,  so 
completely  was  he  absorbed  by  his  subject,  that  it  seemed 
as  though  the  amputation  of  one  of  his  limbs  would 
scarcely  withdraw  his  attention." 

A  circumstance  having  no  connection  with  the  rela- 
tion between  him  and  his  benefactor,  but  involving  them 
both,  led  to  premature  separation.  One  or  both  of  them 
were  requested  by  the  political  party  to  which  they  be- 
longed,  to  deliver  orations  on  the  approaching  Fourth  of 
July.  Dr.  L.  began  at  the  appointed  hour,  and  went 
through  with  his  discourse,  but  attempts  were  made  by 
the  opposite  party  to  offer  insult  and  create  disturbance ; 


20  MEMOIR  OF 

at  which  our  young  orator  became  indignant ;  and  yield- 
ing to  the  impulse  of  his  strong  native  feelings,  not  only 
refused  to  deliver  what  he  had  prepared,  but  resolved  on 
returning  forthwith  to  Baltimore.  His  oration  was  left 
with  his  preceptor,  who  speaks  of  it  as  not  unworthy  of 
Patrick  Henry. 

Departing  from  Elizabethtown,  he  returned  to  Balti- 
more, and  became  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Hall ;  and,  in  the  suc- 
ceeding autumn,  began  to  attend  the  lectures  in  that  city. 
His  pecuniary  difficulties,  however,  were  pressing,  and, 
in  the  ensuing  February,  1816,  he  wrote  to  his  benefac- 
tor in  the  following  eloquent  and  affecting  style  : 

"  Need  I  then  inform  you  how  high  my  expectations 
were  raised,  when  I  commenced  attending  the  lectures 
this  winter — need  I  say  I  was  almost  certain  of  future 
competency  ?  Alas  !  my  friend,  the  Great  Ruler  of 
events  has  interposed  (in  order  to  teach  me  resigna- 
tion to  his  will)  this  heavy  disappointment.  By  unforeseen 
events — by  domestic  calamities,  I  have  been  compelled 
to  relinquish  the  study  of  medicine,  so  long  the  ultima- 
tum of  all  my  hopes.  FATHER  OF  ALL,  THY  WILL  BE  DONE. 
I  have  made  this  my  motto — my  consolation;  and  did  I 
not  daily  see  the  truth  of  "  Omnia  pro  optimo,"  I  might 
perhaps  repine.  I  am  now  in  expectation  of  a  situation 
with  an  eminent  apothecary  of  this  city,  and  I  may  be 
enabled,  at  a  future  period,  to  recommence  the  study  of 
medicine." 

This  situation  however  he  did  not  obtain. 


DR.  GODMAN.  21 

"  Let  me  now  give  you  a  retrospect  of '  the  days  of  my 
life.'  Since  I  have  returned  from  you,  I  have  discovered 
my  real  age,  in  an  old  book  of  my  father's,  (and  you 
would  hardly  suppose  it,)  I  was  21  years  old  the  20th 
day  of  December,  1815.  Before  I  was  two  years  old  I 
was  motherless — before  I  was  five  years  old  I  was  father- 
less and  friendless — I  have  been  cast  among  strangers — 
J  have  been  deprived  of  property  by  fraud,  that  was  mine 
by  right — I  have  eaten  the  bread  of  misery — I  have 
drunk  of  the  cup  of  sorrow — I  have  passed  the  flower  of 
my  days  in  a  state  little  better  than  slavery,  and  have 
arrived — at  what?  Manhood,  poverty,  and  desolation. 
Heavenly  Parent,  teach  me  patience  and  resignation  to 
thy  will." 

About  this  time  he  seems  to  have  found  a  patron  in 
Professor  Davidge,  and,  on  the  18th  of  April  following, 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Luckey — 

"I  still  continue  to  study  with  Dr.  Wright,  (the  part- 
ner  of  Dr.  Davidge,)  and  provided  it  shall  be  the  will  of 
heaven,  I  may  possibly  procure  admission  in  the  course 
of  the  next  year  into  the  venerable  circle  of  medi- 
cine." 

In  speaking  of  his  perplexed  and  embarrassed  situation, 
and  of  the  mutations  of  fortune,  he  says — 

"  There  is  only  one  thing  which  points  to,  and  affords 
immutable  consolation,  and  that  is,  the  observance  of  re- 
ligion. Although  we  should  be  incapable  of  reaping 
enjoyment  in  this  world,  even  from  uninterrupted  pros- 


22  MEMOIR  OF 

perity,  yet  we  can  ardently  long  for,  and  sincerely  believe, 
we  may  be  eternally  happy  in  the  next." 

In  this  situation  he  finished  his  medical  education.  In 
the  language  of  Professor  Sewall* — 

"  Here  he  pursued  his  studies  with  such  diligence  and 
zeal,  as  to  furnish,  even  at  that  early  period,  strong  inti- 
mations of  his  future  eminence.  So  indefatigable  was 
he  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  that  he  left  no  op- 
portunity of  advancement  unimproved,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  deficiencies  of  his  preparatory  education,  he 
pressed  forward  with  an  energy  and  perseverance,  that 
enabled  him  not  only  to  rival,  but  to  surpass  all  his  fel- 
lows." 

He  appears  to  have  attended  the  lectures  in  the  Balti- 
more school,  through  the  sessions  commencing  in  the 
autumns  of  1816,  and  1817.  In  the  course  of  the  last, 
Professor  Dayidge  was  disabled,  by  an  accident,  for 
several  weeks,  and  Mr.  Godman  was  appointed  to  supply 
his  place.  This,  as  he  had  been  an  apprentice  to  a  trade, 
not  three  years  before,  in  the  same  city,  was  an  hon- 
ourable testimony  to  his  talents  and  industry,  and  must 
have  been  highly  gratifying  to  his  ambition,  According 
to  Professor  Sewall,  (loco  citato.) 

"This  situation  he  filled  for  several  weeks  with  so 
much  propriety — he  lectured  with  such  enthusiasm  and 
eloquence,  his  illustrations  were  so  clear  and  happy,  as 

*  Eulogy  on  Dr.  Godman,  p.  4. 


DR.  GODMAN.  23 

to  gain  universal  applause;  and  at  the  time  he  was  ex- 
amined  for  his  degree,  the  superiority  of  his  mind,  as 
well  as  the  extent  and  accuracy  of  his  knowledge,  were 
so  apparent,  that  he  was  marked  by  the  professors  of  the 
University  as  one  who  was  destined  at  some  future  period 
to  confer  high  honour  upon  the  profession." 

In  reference  to  his  graduation,  on  the  10th  of  February, 
1818,  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Luckey,  in  these  em- 
phatical  words  : 

"  I  know  not  what  to  tell  you  for  news,  unless  I  tell 
you  that  I  passed  my  graduate  examination,  on  Saturday ; 
Feb.  7,)  which  lasted  twenty  minutes;  and,  of  course,  1 
have  now  the  '  vast  unbounded  prospect  all  before  me  ;' 
though  '  shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness  rest  upon  it.'  I 
will  go  to  the  country  to  practise,  most  probably  to 
Frederick  county." 

In  the  United  States,  it  is  common  to  see  young  men, 
without  preparatory  education  or  fortune,  become  prac- 
titioners of  medicine ;  but  most  of  this  class  struggle  into 
the  ranks  of  the  profession,  totally  unprepared ;  and  de- 
part from  it  for  other  pursuits,  or  for  the  grave,  unknown 
and  unhonoured  by  the  scientific  world.  Such  an  ad- 
mission, must  not  be  confounded  with  that  of  young 
Godman ;  who  scorned  to  enter  the  profession  unqualified 
and  unauthorised  by  those  who  guard,  or  ought  to  guard, 
its  portals.  In  this  respect  he  was  a  shining  example; 
and  his  subsequent  success  should  animate  every  friend- 
less young  man,  who  may  engage  in  the  study  of  medi- 


24  MEMOIR  OF 

cine,  to  imitate  his  industry  and  unfaltering  perseverance. 
By  these  means,  if  not  blessed  with  his  genius,  they  may 
prepare  themselves  for  extensive  usefulness,  and  earn 
respectability  if  not  renown. 

We  come  now  to  contemplate  Dr.  Godman,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  profession.  His  first  location  was  in  the  vil- 
lage of  New  Holland,  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna ; 
where,  however,  he  remained  but  a  few  months.  The 
next  was  on  the  Patapsco,  near  Baltimore,  whence,  in 
July,  1819,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Luckey  as  follows : 

"  My  success  in  business  has  been  considerable,  or  my 
practice,  at  least,  has  been  as  extensive  as  I  could  ration- 
ally  expect."  "What  my  success  may  be  in  the  end  is 
at  present  very  doubtful.  I  still  have  considerable  ex- 
pectation of  being  recalled  to  Baltimore,  in  order  to  fill 
the  place  which  I  held  in  the  University.  If  it  so  hap- 
pen,  I  shall  be  much  delighted,  as  a  country  life  is  very 
little,  or  not  at  all,  to  my  taste." 

In  these  rural  situations .  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  nature;  and,  at  a  subsequent  time,  set  forth  the 
fruits  of  his  observations  in  a  series  of  papers,  entitled 
the  Rambles  of  a  Naturalist.  But  his  ardent  tempera- 
ment was  little  adapted  to  the  stagnant  existence  of  a 
village  doctor.  He  thirsted  for  competition,  and  longed 
to  engage  in  the  rivalries  which  prevail  among  the  can- 
didates  for  fame.  Nature  seems  to  have  urged  him  on.  It 
was  she  who  revealed  to  him  the  compass  of  his  intel- 
lectual powers;  and  bid  him  seek  a  theatre  commen- 


DR.  GODMAX.  25 

surate  with  their  efficiency.  A  different  arrangement 
from  what  he  had  anticipated  was  made  in  the  Baltimore 
school ;  he  returned,  however,  to  that  city,  but  at  length 
boldly  resolved  to  fix  himself  in  Philadelphia,  and  become 
a  public  teacher  of  anatomy  and  physiology. 

But  an  unexpected  event  gave,  for  the  time  being,  a 
different  direction  to  his  efforts.  The  writer  of  this 
article  was  enquiring,  at  that  time,  for  a  suitable  person 
to  fill  the  chair  of  surgery  in  the  medical  college  of  Ohio, 
the  first  session  of  which  had  just  closed  ;  and  Dr.  God- 
man  was  recommended.  His  qualifications  for  the  first 
place,  were  expressed  by  Professor  Gibson,  then  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  but  previously  a  member  of 
the  Baltimore  institution,  in  the  following  unequivocal 
and  prophetic  language.  "  In  my  opinion,  Dr.  Godman 
would  do  honour  to  any  school  in  America."  He  was 
forthwith  appointed ;  and  arrived  in  Cincinnati  the  en- 
suing  October,  (1821,)  in  time  to  enter  on  the  second 
session  of  the  school. 

For  the  practical  details  of  such  a  professorship,  he 
could  not  of  course  be  well  prepared,  as  his  surgical  ex- 
perience was  exceedingly  limited;  but  he  was  learned 
in  the  institutes  of  the  science,  and  his  knowledge  of 
anatomy  was  comprehensive,  accurate  and  commanding. 
As  a  dissector,  he  was  equally  rapid  and  adroit.  His 
lectures  were  well  received  by  the  class,  who  admired 
his  genius,  were  captivated  by  his  eloquence,  and 
charmed  with  the  naivett  of  his  manners. 
3 


26  MEMOIR  OP 

In  the  course  of  the  session,  difficulties,  of  which  he 
was  neither  the  cause  nor  the  victim,  were  generated  in 
the  faculty,  the  class  was  small,  and  the  prospects  of  the 
institution  overcast:  under  these  circumstances,  Dr. 
Godman  resigned,  but  did  not  at  that  time  return  to  the 
east. 

Not  long  before,  the  author  of  this  narrative  had  issued 
proposals  for  a  medical  journal,  to  be  edited  by  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  college,  and  obtained  a  number  of  sub- 
scribers ;  but  the  distracted  state  of  the  institution  pre- 
vented the  fulfilment  of  the  design.  To  this  enterprise,  as 
soon  as  he  had  resigned,  Dr.  Godman  directed  his  at- 
tention  ;  and  assisted  by  Mr.  Foote,  a  liberal  and  literary 
bookseller  in  this  city,  in  a  few  weeks  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Western  Quarterly  Reporter.  Thus,  if 
not  the  first  to  project,  Dr.  G.  had  the  honour  of  being 
the  first  to  commence,  a  journal  of  medicine,  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  At  the  end  of  the  6th  number, 
of  a  hundred  pages  each,  the  work  was  discontinued,  for, 
previously  to  that  time,  its  editor  had  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia. More  than  three  hundred  pages  of  this  periodi- 
cal were  from  his  own  pen  ;  chiefly  in  translations  and 
reviews  of  anatomy,  physiology,  and  medical  jurispru- 
dence. 

Dr.  Godman  resided  in  our  city  for  one  year  only ;  but 
in  that  short  period  he  deeply  inscribed  himself  on  the 
public  mind.  The  memory  of  his  works  still  remains 
with  us.  In  addition  to  writing  for  his  medical  journal, 


DR.  GOD3IAN.  27 

and  to  his  practice,  which  was  considerable  for  a  stranger, 
he  erected  an  apparatus  for  sulphurous  fumigation,  and 
translated  and  published  a  French  pamphlet  on  that 
remedy ;  he  read  medical  books,  and  many  current  works 
of  general  literature ;  prosecuted  the  study  of  the  German 
and  Spanish  languages ;  and  labelled  the  ancient  coins 
and  medals  of  the  Western  Museum.  In  the  midst  of 
the  whole,  he  found  time  to  cultivate  his  social  relations ; 
and  every  day  added  a  new  friend  to  the  catalogue  of 
those,  who  loved  him  for  his  simplicity  and  frankness, 
not  less  than  they  admired  him  for  his  genius,  vivacity, 
and  diligence.  Thus,  to  use  an  idiomatic  expression, 
he  was  a  growing  man,  and  might  have  remained  with 
us  and  done  well.  But  the  hand  of  destiny  was  upon 
him.  He  had  left  the  banks  of  the  Patapsco,  to  be  a 
public  teacher :  the  same  object  had  drawn  him  from 
Philadelphia  to  Cincinnati ;  and  that  object,  at  length,  re- 
stored  him  to  the  great  emporium  of  the  medical  sciences. 
Contrary  to  the  wishes  and  importunities  of  his  western 
friends,  in  the  autumn  of  1822,  with  his  young  family,  he 
set  off  for  the  theatre  of  his  future  glory;  which  he 
reached  in  safety,  though  not  without  some  of  the 
many  difficulties,  at  that  time  connected  with  a  journey 
across  the  state  of  Ohio ;  of  which,  in  a  letter  from 
Wheeling  to  one  of  his  friends  in  this  city,  he  gave  a 
familiar  account,  in  all  respects  so  characteristic,  that 
we  hope  to  be  excused  for  extracting  it : 

"  We  arrived  last  night,  after  a  journey  which  exceeded 


28  MEMOIR  OF 

in  miseries  any  twenty  journeys  I  ever  made  in  my  life. 
Thank  God,  the  whole  has  been  productive  of  nothing- 
worse,  than  some  hoarseness  to  my  wife,  and  a  galloping 
consumption  of  my  bank  notes.  We  were  thirteen  days 
on  the  way,  twelve  of  which  gave  us  as  heavy  rains  as 
ever  poor  mortals  could  venture  to  travel  in ;  and  this 
produced  such  a  delightfully  soft  state  of  the  roads,  that 
but  for  the  rocks,  (which  fortunately  were  not  twenty 
feet  below  the  surface,)  we  might  have  been  extracted 
some  thousand  years  hence,  in  a  high  state  of  preserva- 
tion, to  decorate  Best's  museum,  having  one  of  Dor- 
feuille's  mummy  labels  around  our  necks. 

"  If  I  were  one  of  the  '  tristful  travellers,'  I  might  draw 
much  '  matter  of  melancholy'  from  these  '  misadven- 
tures,' as  my  friend  Sancho  Panza  calls  them.  But  as 
the  blessed  sun  of  heaven  has  driven  forth  once  more  in 
his  beamy  chariot,  and  the  clouds  are  scattered  from 
their  long-  held  seats,  those  which  have  loured  on  my 
mind,  have  also  fled  ;  and  with  '  a  light  heart,'  I  am  once 
more  preparing  to  encounter  all  the  good  or  ill  that  God 
may  send." 

Of  Dr.  Godman's  life  and  labours  from  this  time  for- 
ward, we  shall  say  but  little,  as  they  are  known  to  all 
the  reading  people  of  the  United  States,  both  in  and  out 
of  the  profession ;  and  as  our  chief  object  is  to  present 
the  difficulties  and  triumphs  of  his  earlier  years,  for  the 
benefit  of  our  younger  readers. 

In  Philadelphia  he  immediately  began  to  lecture  on 


DR.  GODMAX.  29 

anatomy  and  physiology,  his  first  and  greatest  objects ; 
and  succeeded  so  well,  that,  in  1826,  he  was  called  to 
Rutgers'  College,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  as  an  asso- 
ciate of  Mott  and  Hosack. 

In  1824  he  was  made  one  of  the  editors,  (a  working 
editor,)  of  the  Philadelphia  Journal  of  the  Medical 
Sciences :  and  continued  a  liberal  contributor  to  that 
respectable  periodical,  to  the  last  weeks  of  his  life. 

At  different  times  he  published  a  number  of  interesting 
and  eloquent  introductory  lectures. 

He  was  the  writer  of  several  elaborate  analytical  and 
critical  reviews,  in  the  American  Quarterly. 

At  the  present  time,  actual  discoveries  in  anatomy  are 
no  more  to  be  expected,  yet  Dr.  G.,  with  admirable  skill, 
revealed  many  new  connections  and  relations  of  certain 
parts,  and  described  them  in  a  volume  which  he  entitled 
Anatomical  Investigations. 

He  translated  and  published  from  the  Latin,  French, 
and  German  languages,  a  variety  of  papers  and  distinct 
treatises ;  several  of  them  on  subjects  not  professional,  as 
for  example,  Lavasseur's  Narrative  of  La  Fayette's  Visit 
to  the  United  States. 

He  wrote  critical  and  emendatory  notes  on  several  im- 
portant English  and  continental  works,  which  the  book- 
sellers of  this  country  were  about  to  publish. 

The  article  of  Natural  History,  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Americana,  was  exclusively  confided  to  him,  and  his 
labours  upon  it  ended  only  with  his  life. 
3* 


30  MEMOIR  OF 

He  studied  the  Zoology  of  North  America,  both  existing 
and  fossil,  and  favoured  us  with  an  interesting  and  ex- 
tended history  of  all  its  own  quadrupeds,  embracing  a 
great  variety  of  new  observations. 

Such  were  the  labours  of  the  deceased,  during  the 
seven  years  that  he  resided  in  Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  For  the  whole  of  that  period,  his  life  was  one  of 
unmitigated  toil.  As  far  back  as  November,  1823,  he 
writes  to  his  friend  Dr.  Best, 

"  Whatever  you  may  think  of  my  long  continued 
silence,  it  has  been  unavoidably  produced  by  the  inces- 
sant and  laborious  employments  which  have  occupied  the 
whole  of  my  time." 

In  1824,  he  writes  to  another  friend — 
"  My  time  has  been  very  much  occupied  in  the  various 
duties  which  devolve  on  me  here,  and  I  am  obliged  to 
neglect  my  friends,  in  appearance,  because  it  is  out  of  my 
power  to  bestow  the  necessary  attention  to  correspond- 
ence." 

Again,  in  1825,  he  says  to  the  same — 
"  It  is  needless  to  tell  you,  that  I  am  excessively  occu- 
pied, and  shall  be  more  so  as  the  winter  approaches." 

In  the  next  year  we  find  him  still  in  the  same  condi- 
tion— 

"  If  you  expect  news  at  my  hands,"  says  he  to  Dr. 
Best,  "  you  expect  in  vain.  My  life  is  one  monotonous 
round  of  incessant  toil  after  bread  and/ame,  that '  certain 
portion  of  uncertain  paper.'  Of  my  success  in  the  bread 


DR.  GODMAX.  31 

making  way,  I  can,  thank  God,  speak  more  satisfactorily 
than  when  we  last  met,  though  still  nothing  to  boast  of." 

Again  in  the  same  year  he  writes — 

"  You  recollect  how  much  and  how  hard  I  had  to 
work,  when  you  were  here — that  was  nothing  to  what  I 
have  to  do  now,  as  vigilance  and  labour  are  incessantly 
demanded,  not  only  to  gain  more  '  reputation,'  but  to  re- 
tain that  which  I  have  already  with  vast  toil  acquired." 

In  the  following  year,  after  he  had  removed  to  New 
York,  and  was  there  a  candidate  for  professional  business, 
he  writes  to  the  same  friend — 

"  The  prospects  of  our  college  are  fair  enough  at  pre- 
sent, but  what  will  be  the  event,  cannot  be  told  until  the 
time  of  trial  arrives.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  not  a  little 
sick  of  the  life  such  a  business  occasions,  and  think  you 
far  better  off,  in  a  situation,  where  you  can  acquire  a 
subsistence  and  respect,  without  the  incessant  worry  and 
vexation  attendant  on  a  life  of  professional  ambition. 
For  my  own  part,  I  shall  lay  myself  as  much  out  for  the 
profession  us  I  can,  though  I  fear,  not  the  best  subject 
for  improvement  in  that  way.  My  situation  is  such,  that 
I  am  obliged  to  rely,  in  a  very  great  degree,  on  my  pen, 
and  that,  you  will  pay,  produces  habits  very  little  com- 
patible with  the  introduction  of  one's  self  into  practice, 
where  there  are  so  many  professed  bowers,  scrapers,  and 
flatterers." 

In  the  ensuing  winter  he  was  seized  with  the  disease 
of  the  lungs  of  which  he  finally  died,  and  was  compelled 


32  MEMOIR  OF 

to  suspend  his  lectures.  In  the  following  January,  1829, 
he  speaks  to  the  same  gentleman,  of  his  situation  and 
labours,  in  these  affecting  words — 

"  My  excessive  exertion,  and  the  exposure  to  a  dread- 
ful climate  destroyed  me.  My  lungs  became  diseased, 
and  last  winter,  I  was  threatened  with  so  rapid  a  decline 
as  to  force  me  to  escape  from  the  climate  of  New  York, 
by  going  to  the  West  Indies.  The  months  of  February, 
March,  and  April,  my  wife  and  I  spent  in  the  Danish 
Island  of  Santa  Cruz,  where  I  very  nearly  perished  from 
my  disease,  though  I  certainly  should  have  done  so  in 
New  York.  On  my  return  to  Philadelphia,  in  May,  I 
took  a  house  in  Germantown,  within  seven  miles  from 
the  city,  where  I  have  since  resided.  During  the  warm 
weather  I  was  able  to  creep  about,  but  since  the  first  of 
the  fall  have  been  confined  to  a  single  room.  My  health 
during  all  this  time  has  been  in  a  very  wretched  state, 
and  my  consumption  very  obvious  indeed,  for  I  wasted  to 
bones  and  lost  all  my  strength.  Until  the  last  three 
weeks  past,  I  was  exceedingly  low,  unable  to  sit  up,  eat, 
or  perform  any  function  advantageously.  Since  the  time 
mentioned  I  have  greatly  recovered  in  all  respects.  My 
cough  is  by  no  means  troublesome,  and  I  eat  and  sleep 
well.  What  is  best  of  all  is  that  I  have  never  had  hectic 
since  leaving  New  York,  where  I  was  not  properly  pre- 
scribed for.  Notwithstanding  all  thess  drawbacks,  I 
have  had  my  family  to  support,  and  have  done  so  merely 
by  my  pen.  This  you  may  suppose  severe  enough  for 


DR.   GODMAN.  33 

one  in  my  condition,  nevertheless  necessity  is  a  ruthless 
master.  At  present,  that  I  am  comparatively  well,  my 
literary  occupations  form  my  chief  pleasure,  and  all  the 
regret  I  experience  is,  that  my  strength  is  so  inadequate 
to  my  wishes.  Should  my  health  remain  as  it  is  now  I 
shall  do  very  well,  and  I  cannot  but  hope,  since  we  have 
recently  passed  through  a  tremendous  spell  of  cold  wea- 
ther without  my  receiving  any  injury.  All  my  prospects 
as  a  public  teacher  of  anatomy  are  utterly  destroyed,  as  I 
can  never  hope,  nor  would  I  venture  if  I  could,  again  to 
resume  my  labours.  My  success  promised  to  be  very 
great,  but  it  has  pleased  God  that  I  should  move  in  a  dif- 
ferent direction." 

In  the  following  year,  continuing  to  write  for  the  sup- 
port of  his  family  till  the  last  month  of  his  existence,  he 
was  taken  from  them,  and  in  him  they  lost  their  all. 
Twelve  years  of  unfaltering  industry,  that  had  carried 
his  name  into  all  the  countries  where  science  is  culti- 
vated, had  not  enabled  him  to  accumulate  property  ;  and 
ended  by  consigning  him  to  the  grave,  ere  he  reached 
the  noon-day  of  life,  or  had  put  forth,  to  their  full  extent, 
the  vast  intellectual  powers,  with  which  he  was  endowed. 
In  all  this,  there  is  much  more  to  grieve  than  astonish 
us.  As  a  physician  and  surgeon,  Dr.  Godman's  busi- 
ness was  never  considerable.  At  the  very  beginning  of 
his  professional  career,  his  mind  took  a  different  direc- 
tion. No  human  heart  was  ever  imbued  with  a  deeper 
thirst  for  knowledge,  or  warmed  with  a  nobler  love  of 


34  MEMOIR  OF 

glory.  He  made  the  former  subservient  to  the  latter ;  but 
the  objects  of  his  ambition  were  teaching  and  writing, 
not  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Perhaps,  indeed,  he 
adapted  the  aims  of  his  ambition  to  his  taste.  He  relished 
reading,  writing,  and  lecturing,  more  than  the  practice 
of  medicine;  and  sought  to  derive  from  them,  that  emo- 
lument, which,  in  this  country,  they  seldom  afford,  and 
which  can  much  more  certainly  be  drawn  from  a  close 
attention  to  the  practical  duties  of  the  profession.  Had 
he  possessed  a  patrimony,  this  course  would  have  been 
unexceptionable ;  without  such  a  reliance,  no  young  phy- 
sician should  neglect  the  means  of  acquiring  professional 
business,  at  the  outset  of  his  career. 

Dr.  Godman  was,  without  doubt,  a  man  of  genius ;  but 
he  was  not,  perhaps,  so  much  the  expositor,  as  the  histo- 
rian of  nature.  Observing,  imaginative,  fluent,  and  gra- 
phical, he  abounded  less  in  deep  and  original  analysis 
than  vivid  and  accurate  delineations.  Thus  his  mind, 
like  that  of  Lucretius,  Darwin,  and  Good,  was  poetical 
and  philosophical ;  and  he  left  behind  him  several  fugitive 
pieces,  written  chiefly  in  his  last  illness,  which  prove  that 
he  might  have  shone  as  the  poet  of  nature,  not  less  than 
her  historian,  had  circumstances  awakened  his  powers. 

He  possessed  uncommon  abilities  for  dissection,  and 
was  accustomed,  in  the  presence  of  his  class,  to  disen- 
tangle the  structures  intended  for  exhibition  ;  thus  show- 
ing their  connections  and  dependences,  while  he  de- 
scribed them  with  that  clearness,  animation,  and  elo- 


DE.  GODMAN.  35 

quence,  which  only  can  render  the  study  of  anatomy  at- 
tractive. 

In  every  situation,  and  on  every  subject,  his  attention 
was  active  and  acute,  his  perceptions  rapid,  his  memory 
exceedingly  retentive,  and  his  ratiocination  profound  and 
analytical. 

For  languages,  he  had  both  taste  and  talents;  and, 
succeeded  in  acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of  a  greater 
number,  perhaps,  than  any  American  physician  who  had 
preceded  him. 

The  qualities  of  his  heart  harmonised  with  those  of 
his  head.  They  did  honour  to  the  profession,  and  in- 
spired confidence  wherever  he  went  To  pure  moral 
habits,  and  incorruptible  honesty,  he  added  that  unsus- 
pecting frankness,  and  all  those  fine  and  glowing  sensi- 
bilities, which  at  once  excite  our  respect,  and  win  our 
affection. 

But  it  is  not  our  design  to  attempt  an  extended  delinea- 
tion of  his  character,  and  we  shall  close  an  article  already 
prolonged  far  beyond  our  original  intention,  with  his  own 
statement  of  his  opinions  and  hopes,  in  regard  to  that 
world  of  which  he  is  now  a  "  bright  inhabitant." 

In  his  last  letter  to  Dr.  Best,  who  followed  him  in  a 
few  months,  he  writes : — 

"  It  gives  me  great  happiness  to  learn  that  you  have 
been  taught,  as  well  as  myself,  to  fly  to  the  Rock  of 
Ages  for  shelter  against  the  afflictions  of  this  life,  and 
for  hopes  of  eternal  salvation.  But  for  the  hopes  afforded 


36  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  GODMAN. 

me,  by  an  humble  reliance  on  the  all-sufficient  atonement 
of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  I  should  have  been  the  most 
wretched  of  men.  But  I  trust,  that  the  afflictions  I  have 
endured  have  been  sanctified  to  my  awakening,  and  to 
the  regeneration  of  my  heart  and  life.  May  we,  my  dear 
friend,  persist  to  cling  to  the  only  sure  support  against 
all  that  is  evil  in  life,  and  all  that  is  fearful  in  death." 

Thus  fell  from  the  firmament  of  the  American  profes- 
sion, before  he  had  reached  his  meridian  splendour,  one 
of  the  brightest  stars  which  have  yet  risen  above  its  hori- 
zon ;  but  he  was  one  only,  and  we  may  hope  that  his 
own  example  will  contribute  to  place  some  other  in  the 
constellation. 


RAMBLES  OF  A   NATURALIST. 


NO.  I. 

From  early  youth" devoted  to  the  study  of  nature,  it 
has  always  been  my  habit  to  embrace  every  opportunity 
of  increasing  my  knowledge  and  pleasures  by  actual  ob- 
servation, and  I  have  found  ample  means  of  gratifying 
this  disposition,  wherever  my  place  has  been  allotted  by 
Providence.  When  an  inhabitant  of  the  country,  it  was 
sufficient  to  go  a  few  steps  from  the  door  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  numerous  interesting  objects  ;  when  a  resident 
of  the  crowded  city,  a  healthful  walk  of  half  an  hour 
placed  me  where  my  favourite  enjoyment  was  offered  in 
abundance ;  and  now,  when  no  longer  able  to  seek  in 
fields  and  woods  and  running  streams  for  that  knowledge 
which  cannot  readily  be  elsewhere  obtained,  the  recollec- 
tion of  my  former  rambles  is  productive  of  a  satisfaction, 
which  past  pleasures  but  seldom  bestow.  Perhaps  a 
statement  of  the  manner  in  which  my  studies  were  pur- 
4 


38  RAMBLES  OF 

sued,  may  prove  interesting  to  those  who  love  the  works 
of  nature,  and  may  not  be  aware  how  great  a  field  for 
original  observation  is  within  their  reach,  or  how  vast  a 
variety  of  instructive  objects  are  easily  accessible,  even 
to  the  occupants  of  a  bustling  metropolis.  To  me  it  will 
be  a  source  of  great  delight  to  spread  these  resources  be- 
fore  the  reader,  and  enable  him  so  cheaply  to  participate 
in  the  pleasures  I  have  enjoyed,  as  well  as  place  him  in 
the  way  of  enlarging  the  general  stock  of  knowledge  by 
communicating  the  results  of  his  original  observations. 

One  of  my  favourite  walks  was  through  Turner's  lane, 
near  Philadelphia,  which  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  and  not  much  wider  than  an  ordinary  street,  being 
closely  fenced  in  on  both  sides ;  yet  my  reader  may  feel 
surprised  when  informed  that  I  found  ample  employment 
for  all  my  leisure,  during  six  weeks,  within  and  about  its 
precincts.  On  entering  the  lane  from  the  Ridge  road,  I 
observed  a  gentle  elevation  of  the  turf  beneath  the  lower 
rails  of  the  fence,  which  appeared  to  be  uninterruptedly 
continuous ;  and  when  I  had  cut  through  the  verdant 
roof  with  my  knife,  it  proved  to  be  a  regularly  arched 
gallery  or  subterranean  road,  along  which  the  inhabitants 
could  securely  travel  at  all  hours  without  fear  of  discovery. 
The  sides  and  bottom  of  this  arched  way  were  smooth 
and  clean,  as  if  much  used ;  and  the  raised  superior  por- 
tion had  long  been  firmly  consolidated  by  the  grass  roots, 
intermixed  with  tenacious  clay.  At  irregular  and  fre- 
quently distant  intervals,  a  side  path  diverged  into  the 


A  NATURALIST.  39 

neighbouring  fields,  and  by  its  superficial  situation,  irre- 
gularity, and  frequent  openings,  showed  that  its  purpose 
was  temporary,  or  had  been  only  opened  for  the  sake  of 
procuring  food.  Occasionally  I  found  a  little  gallery  di- 
verging from  the  main  route  beneath  the  fence,  towards 
the  road,  and  finally  opening  on  the  grass,  as  if  the  in- 
mate had  come  out  in  the  morning  to  breathe  the  early 
air,  or  to  drink  of  the  crystal  dew  which  daily  gemmed 
the  close  cropped  verdure.  How  I  longed  to  detect  the 
animal  which  tenanted  these  galleries,  in  the  performance 
of  his  labours !  Farther  on,  upon  the  top  of  a  high  bank, 
which  prevented  the  pathway  from  continuing  near  the 
fence,  appeared  another  evidence  of  the  industry  of  my 
yet  unknown  miner.  Half  a  dozen  hillocks  of  loose,  al- 
most pulverised  earth  were  thrown  up,  at  irregular  dis- 
tances, communicating  with  the  main  gallery  by  side 
passages.  Opening  one  of  these  carefully,  it  appeared  to 
differ  little  from  the  common  gallery  in  size,  but  it  was 
very  difficult  to  ascertain  where  the  loose  earth  came 
from,  nor  have  I  ever  been  able  to  tell,  since  I  never  wit- 
nessed the  formation  of  these  hillocks,  and  conjectures 
are  forbidden,  where  nothing  but  observation  is  requisite 
to  the  decision.  My  farther  progress  was  now  inter- 
rupted by  a  delightful  brook  which  sparkled  across  the 
road  over  a  clear  sandy  bed ;  and  here  my  little  galleries 
turned  into  the  field,  coursing  along  at  a  moderate  dis- 
tance from  the  stream.  I  crept  through  the  fence  into 
the  meadow  on  the  west  side,  intending  to  discover,  if  pos- 


40  RAMBLES  OF 

sible,  the  animal  whose  works  had  first  fixed  my  attention, 
but  as  I  approached  the  bank  of  the  rivulet  something 
suddenly  retreated  towards  the  grass,  seeming  to  vanish 
almost  unaccountably  from  sight.  Very  carefully  ex- 
amining the  point  at  which  it  disappeared,  I  found  the 
entrance  of  another  gallery  or  burrow,  but  of  very  dif- 
ferent construction  from  that  first  observed.  This  new 
one  was  formed  in  the  grass,  near  and  among  whose 
roots  and  lower  stems  a  small  but  regular  covered  way 
was  practised.  Endless,  however,  would  have  been  the 
attempt  to  follow  this,  as  it  opened  in  various  directions, 
and  ran  irregularly  into  the  field,  and  towards  the  brook, 
by  a  great  variety  of  passages.  It  evidently  belonged  to 
an  animal  totally  different  from  the  owner  of  the  subter- 
ranean passage,  as  I  subsequently  discovered,  and  may 
hereafter  relate.  Tired  of  my  unavailing  pursuit,  I  now 
returned  to  the  little  brook,  and  seating  myself  on  a 
stone,  remained  for  some  time  unconsciously  gazing  on 
the  fluid  which  gushed  along  in  unsullied  brightness  over 
its  pebbly  bed.  Opposite  to  my  seat,  was  an  irregular 
hole  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  into  which,  in  an  idle 
mood,  I  pushed  a  small  pebble  with  the  end  of  my  stick. 
What  was  my  surprise,  in  a  few  seconds  afterwards,  to 
observe  the  water  in  this  hole  in  motion,  and  the  pebble 
I  -had  pushed  into  it  gently  approaching  the  surface. 
Such  was  the  fact ;  the  hole  was  the  dwelling  of  a  stout 
little  crayfish  or  fresh  water  lobster,  who  did  not  choose 
to  be  incommoded  by  the  pebble,  though  doubtless  he  at- 


A  NATURALIST.  41 

tributed  its  sudden  arrival  to  the  usual  accidents  of  the 
stream,  and  not  to  ray  thoughtless  movements.  He  had 
thrust  his  broad  lobster-like  claws  under  the  stone,  and 
then  drawn  them  near  to  his  mouth;  thus  making  a  kind 
of  shelf;  and  as  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  hole,  he  sud- 
denly extended  his  claws,  and  rejected  the  incumbrance 
from  the  lower  side,  or  down  stream.  Delighted  to  have 
found  a  living  object  with  whose  habits  I  was  unac- 
quainted, I  should  have  repeated  my  experiment,  but  the 
crayfish  presently  returned  with  what  might  be  called  an 
armful  of  rubbish,  and  threw  it  over  the  side  of  his  cell, 
and  down  the  stream  as  before.  Having  watched  him 
for  some  time  while  thus  engaged,  my  attention  was 
caught  by  the  considerable  number  of  similar  holes  along 
the  margin  and  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  One  of  these 
I  explored  with  a  small  rod,  and  found  it  to  be  eight  or 
ten  inches  deep,  and  widened  below  into  a  considerable 
chamber,  in  which  the  little  lobster  found  a  comfortable 
abode.  Like  all  of  his  tribe,  the  crayfish  makes  con- 
siderable opposition  to  being  removed  from  his  dwelling, 
and  bit  smartly  at  the  stick  with  his  claws :  as  my  pre- 
sent object  was  only  to  gain  acquaintance  with  his  dwell- 
ing, he  was  speedily  permitted  to  return  to  it  in  peace. 
Under  the  end  of  a  stone  lying  in  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
something  was  floating  in  the  pure  current,  which  at 
first  seemed  like  the  tail  of  a  fish,  and  being  desirous  to 
obtain  a  better  view,  I  gently  raised  the  stone  on  its 
edge,  and  was  rewarded  by  a  very  beautiful  sight.  The 


42  RAMBLES  OF 

object  first  observed  was  the  tail  of  a  beautiful  salaman- 
der, whose  sides  were  of  a  pale  straw  colour,  flecked 
with  circlets  of  the  richest  crimson.  Its  long  lizard  like 
body  seemed  to  be  semitransparent,  and  its  slender  limbs 
appeared  like  mere  productions  of  the  skin.  Not  far  dis- 
tant, and  near  where  the  upper  end  of  the  stone  had  been, 
lay  crouched,  as  if  asleep,  one  of  the  most  beautifully 
coloured  frogs  I  had  ever  beheld.  Its  body  was  slender 
compared  with  most  frogs,  and  its  skin  covered  with 
stripes  of  bright  reddish  brown  and  grayish  green,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  recall  the  beautiful  markings  of  the 
tiger's  hide ;  and  since  the  time  alluded  to,  it  has  received 
the  name  of  Tigrina  from  Leconte,  its  first  scientific  de- 
scriber.  How  long  I  should  have  been  content  to  gaze 
at  these  beautiful  animals,  as  they  lay  basking  in  the 
living  water,  I  know  not,  had  not  the  intense  heat  made 
me  feel  the  necessity  of  seeking  a  shade.  It  was  now 
past  12  o'clock,  I  began  to  retrace  my  steps  towards  the 
city  ;  and  without  any  particular  object  moved  along  by 
the  little  galleries  examined  in  the  morning.  I  had  ad- 
vanced but  a  short  distance,  when  I  found  the  last  place 
where  I  had  broken  open  the  gallery  was  repaired.  The 
earth  was  perfectly  fresh,  and  I  had  lost  the  chance  of 
discovering  the  miner,  while  watching  my  new  acquaint- 
ances in  the  stream.  Hurrying  onward,  the  same  circum- 
stance uniformly  presented ;  the  injuries  were  all  effici- 
ently repaired,  and  had  evidently  been  very  recently 
completed.  Here  was  one  point  gained ;  it  was  ascer- 


A  NATURALIST.  43 

tained  that  these  galleries  were  still  inhabited,  and  I 
hoped  soon  to  become  acquainted  with  the  inmates.  But 
at  this  time,  it  appeared  fruitless  to  delay  longer,  and  I 
returned  home,  filled  with  anticipations  of  pleasure  from 
the  success  of  my  future  researches.  These  I  shall  relate 
on  another  occasion,  if  such  narrations  as  the  present  be 
thought  of  sufficient  interest  to  justify  their  presentation 
to  the  reader. 


44  RAMBLES  OP 


NO.    JI. 


On  the  day  following  my  first  related  excursion,  I 
started  early  in  the  morning,  and  was  rewarded  by  one 
sight,  which  could  not  otherwise  have  been  obtained, 
well  worth  the  sacrifice  of  an  hour  or  two  of  sleep. 
There  may  be  persons  who  will  smile  contemptuously 
at  the  idea  of  a  man's  being  delighted  with  such  trifles ; 
nevertheless,  we  are  not  inclined  to  envy  such  as  dis- 
esteem  the  pure  gratification  afforded  by  these  simple 
and  easily  accessible  pleasures.  As  I  crossed  an  open 
lot  on  my  way  to  the  lane,  a  succession  of  gossamer  spi- 
der webs,  lightly  suspended  from  various  weeds  and 
small  shrubs,  attracted  my  attention.  The  dew  which 
had  formed  during  the  night  was  condensed  upon  this 
delicate  lace,  in  globules  of  most  resplendent  brilliance, 
whose  clear  lustre  pleased  while  it  dazzled  the  sight.  In 
comparison  with  the  immaculate  purity  of  these  dew- 
drops,  which  reflected  and  refracted  the  morning  light 
in  beautiful  rays  as  the  gossamer  webs  trembled  in  the 
breeze,  how  poor  would  appear  the  most  invaluable  dia- 
monds that  were  ever  obtained  from  Golconda  or  Brazil! 
How  rich  would  any  monarch  be  that  could  boast  the 


A  NATURALIST.  45 

possession  of  one  such,  as  here  glittered  in  thousands  on 
every  herb  and  spray !  They  are  exhaled  in  an  hour  or 
two  and  lost,  yet  they  are  almost  daily  offered  to  the  de- 
lighted contemplation  of  the  real  lover  of  nature,  who  is 
ever  happy  to  witness  the  beneficence  of  the  great  Crea- 
tor, not  less  displayed  in  trivial  circumstances,  than  the 
most  wonderful  of  his  works. 

No  particular  change  was  discoverable  in  the  works 
of  my  little  miners,  except  that  all  the  places  which  had 
been  a  second  time  broken  down  were  again  repaired, 
showing  that  the  animal  had  passed  between  the  times 
of  my  visit;  and  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  observe 
how  the  repair  was  effected.  It  appeared,  when  the  ani- 
mal arrived  at  the  spot  broken  open  or  exposed  to  the 
air,  that  it  changed  its  direction  sufficiently  downwards 
to  raise  enough  of  earth  from  the  lower  surface  to  fill  up 
the  opening;  this  of  course  slightly  altered  the  direction 
of  the  gallery  at  this  point,  and  though  the  earth  thrown 
up  was  quite  pulverulent,  it  was  so  nicely  arched  as  to 
retain  its  place,  and  soon  became  consolidated.  Having 
broken  open  a  gallery  where  the  turf  was  very  close,  and 
the  soil  tenacious,  I  was  pleased  to  find  the  direction  of 
the  chamber  somewhat  changed ;  on  digging  farther  with 
my  clasp  knife,  I  found  a  very  beautiful  cell  excavated  in 
very  tough  clay,  deeper  than  the  common  level  of  the 
gallery  and  towards  one  side.  This  little  lodging-room 
would  probably  have  held  a  small  melon,  and  was  nicely 
arched  all  round.  It  was  perfectly  clear,  and  quite 


46  RAMBLES  OF 

smooth,  as  if  much  used;  to  examine  it  fully,  I  was 
obliged  to  open  it  completely.  (The  next  day,  it  was 
replaced  by  another,  made  a  little  farther  to  one  side,  ex- 
actly of  the  same  kind;  it  was  replaced  a  second  time, 
but  when  broken  up  a  third  time,  it  was  left  in  ruins.) 
As  twelve  o'clock  approached,  my  solicitude  to  discover 
the  little  miner  increased  to  a  considerable  degree ;  pre- 
vious observation  led  me  to  believe  that  about  that  time 
his  presence  was  to  be  expected.  I  had  trodden  down 
the  gallery  for  some  inches  in  a  convenient  place,  and 
stood  close  by,  in  vigilant  expectation.  My  wishes  were 
speedily  gratified ;  in  a  short  time  the  flattened  gallery 
began  at  one  end  to  be  raised  to  its  former  convexity, 
and  the  animal  rapidly  advanced.  With  a  beating  heart, 
I  thrust  the  knife  blade  down  by  the  side  of  the  rising 
earth,  and  quickly  turned  it  over  to  one  side,  throwing 
my  prize  fairly  into  the  sunshine.  For  an  instant,  he 
seemed  motionless  from  surprise,  when  I  caught  and  im- 
prisoned him  in  my  hat.  It  would  be  vain  for  me  to  at- 
tempt a  description  of  my  pleasure  in  having  thus  suc- 
ceeded, small  as  was  my  conquest.  I  was  delighted  with 
the  beauty  of  my  captive's  fur ;  with  the  admirable  adap- 
tation of  his  diggers  or  broad  rose-tinted  hands;  the 
wonderful  strength  of  his  forelimbs,  and  the  peculiar 
suitableness  of  his  head  and  neck  to  the  kind  of  life  the 
Author  of  nature  had  designed  him  for.  It  was  the  shrew- 
mole,  or  scalops  canadensis,  whose  history  and  peculiari- 
ties of  structure  are  minutely  related  in  the  1st  volume 


A  NATURALIST.  47 

of  Godman's  American  Natural  History.  All  my  re- 
searches  never  enabled  me  to  discover  a  nest,  female  or 
young  one  of  this  species.  All  I  ever  caught  were  males, 
though  this  most  probably  was  a  mere  accident.  The 
breeding  of  the  scalops  is  nearly  all  that  is  wanting  to 
render  -our  knowledge  of  it  complete. 

This  little  animal  has  eyes,  though  they  are  not  dis- 
coverable during  its  living  condition,  nor  are  they  of  any 
use  to  it  above  ground.  In  running  round  a  room,  (until 
it  jiad  perfectly  learned  where  all  the  obstacles  stood,)  it 
would  uniformly  strike  hard  against  them  with  its  snout, 
and  then  turn.  It  appeared  to  me  as  singular  that  a 
creature  which  fed  upon  living  earth  worms  with  all  the 
greediness  of  a  pig,  would  not  destroy  the  larvae  or  mag- 
gots  of  the  flesh  fly.  A  shrew-mole  lived  for  many  weeks 
in  my  study,  and  made  use  of  a  gun  case,  into  which  he 
squeezed  himself,  as  a  burrow.  Frequently  he  would 
carry  the  meat  he  was  fed  with  into  his  retreat ;  and  as 
it  was  warm  weather,  the  flies  deposited  their  eggs  in 
the  same  place.  An  offensive  odour  led  me  to  discover 
this  circumstance,  and  I  found  a  number  of  large  larvae 
over  which  the  shrew-mole  passed  without  paying  them 
any  attention:  nor  would  he,  when  hungry,  accept  of 
such  food,  though  nothing  could  exceed  the  eager  haste 
with  which  he  seized  and  munched  earth  worms.  Often 
when  engaged  in  observing  him  thus  employed,  have  I 
thought  of  the  stories  told  me,  when  a  boy,  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  snakes  were  destroyed  by  swine ;  his  vora- 


48  RAMBLES  OF 

city  readily  exciting  a  recollection  of  one  of  these  animals, 
and  the  poor  worms  writhing  and  twining  about  his  jaws 
answering  for  the  snakes.  It  would  be  tedious  were  I  to 
relate  all  my  rambles  undertaken  with  a  view  to  gain  a 
proper  acquaintance  with  this  creature,  at  all  hours  of 
the  day,  and  late  in  the  evening,  before  daylight, 
&c.  &c. 

Among  other  objects  which  served  as  an  unfailing 
source  of  amusement,  when  resting  from  the  fatigue  of 
my  walks,  was  the  little  inhabitant  of  the  brook,  called 
the  gyrinus  natator.  These  merry  swimmers  occupied 
every  little  sunny  pool  in  the  stream,  apparently  alto- 
gether engaged  in  sport.  A  circumstance  connected 
with  these  insects,  gives  them  additional  interest  to  a 
close  observer;  they  are  allied  by  their  structure  and 
nature  to  those  nauseous  vermin,  the  cimices  (or  bed- 
bugs.) All  of  which,  whether  found  infesting  fruits  or 
our  dormitories,  are  distinguished  by  their  disgusting 
odour.  But  their  distant  relatives,  called  by  the  boys 
the  water-witches  and  apple  smellers,  the  gyrinus  natator 
above  alluded  to,  has  a  delightful  smell,  exactly  similar 
to  that  of  the  richest,  mellowest  apple.  This  peculiarly 
pleasant  smell  frequently  causes  the  idler  many  unavail- 
ing efforts  to  secure  some  of  these  creatures,  whose  ac- 
tivity in  water  renders  their  pursuit  very  difficult,  though 
by  no  means  so  much  so  as  that  of  some  of  the  long 
legged  water  spiders  which  walk  the  waters  dry  shod, 
and  evade  the  grasp  with  surprising  ease  and  celerity. 


A  NATURALIST.  49 

What  purposes  either  of  these  racers  serve  in  the  great 
economy  of  nature,  has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  and 
will  scarcely  be  determined  until  our  store  of  facts  is  far 
more  extensive  than  at  present.  Other  and  still  more 
remarkable  inhabitants  of  the  brook,  at  the  same  time, 
came  within  my  notice,  and  afforded  much  gratification 
in  the  observation  of  their  habits. 


50  RAMBLES  OF 


NO.    HI. 


In  moving  along  the  borders  of  the  stream,  we  may 
observe,  where  the  sand  or  mud  is  fine  and  settled,  a  sort 
of  mark  or  cutting,  as  if  an  edged  instrument  had  been 
drawn  along,  so  as  to  leave  behind  it  a  track  or  groove. 
At  one  end  of  this  line,  by  digging  a  little  into  the  mud 
with  the  hand,  you  will  generally  discover  a  shell  of  con- 
siderable size,  which  is  tenanted  by  a  molluscous  animal 
of  singular  construction.  On  some  occasions,  when  the 
mud  is  washed  off  from  the  shell,  you  will  be  delighted 
to  observe  the  beautifully  regular  dark  lines  with  which 
its  greenish  smooth  surface  is  marked.  Other  species 
are  found  in  the  same  situations,  which,  externally,  are 
rough  and  inelegant,  but  within  are  ornamented  to  a 
most  admirable  degree,  presenting  a  smooth  surface  of 
the  richest  pink,  crimson,  or  purple,  to  which  we  have 
nothing  of  equal  elegance  to  compare  it.  If  the  mere 
shells  of  these  creatures  be  thus  splendid,  what  shall  we 
say  of  their  internal  structure,  which,  when  examined 
by  the  microscope,  offers  a  succession  of  wonders  ?  The 
beautiful  apparatus  for  respiration,  formed  of  a  network 
regularly  arranged,  of  the  most  exquisitely  delicate  tex- 


A  NATURALIST.  5  1 

tore ;  the  foot,  or  organ  by  which  the  shell  is  moved  for- 
ward  through  the  mud  or  water,  composed  of  an  expanded 
spongy  extremity,  capable  of  assuming  various  figures  to 
suit  particular  purposes,  and  governed  by  several  strong 
muscles  that  move  it  in  different  directions ;  the  ovaries, 
filled  with  myriads,  not  of  eggs,  but  of  perfect  shells,  or 
complete  little  animals,  which,  though  not  larger  than 
the  point  of  a  fine  needle,  yet  when  examined  by  the  mi- 
croscope,  exhibit  all  the  peculiarities  of  conformation  that 
belong  to  the  parent;  the  mouth,  embraced  by  the  nervous 
ganglion,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  animal's  brain; 
the  stomach,  surrounded  by  the  various  processes  of  the 
liver,  and  the  strongly  acting,  but  transparent  heart,  all 
excite  admiration  and  gratify  our  curiosity.  The  puzzling 
question  often  presents  itself  to  the  enquirer,  why  so  much 
elaborateness  of  construction,  and  such  exquisite  orna- 
ment as  are  common  to  most  of  these  creatures,  should 
be  bestowed  ?  Destined  to  pass  their  lives  in  and  under 
the  mud,  possessed  of  no  sense  that  we  are  acquainted 
with,  except  that  of  touch,  what  purpose  can  ornament 
serve  in  them  ?  However  much  of  vanity  there  may  be 
in  asking  the  question,  there  is  no  answer  to  be  offered. 
We  cannot  suppose  that  the  individuals  have  any  power 
of  admiring  each  other,  and  we  know  that  the  foot  is  the 
only  part  they  protrude  from  their  shell,  and  that  the  in- 
side  of  the  shell  is  covered  by  the  membrane  called  the 
mantle.  Similar  remarks  may  be  made  relative  to  conch- 
ology  at  large:  the  most  exquisitely  beautiful  forms, 


52  RAMBLES  OF 

colours  and  ornaments  are  lavished  upon  genera  and  spe- 
cies which  exist  only  at  immense  depths  in  the  ocean,  or 
buried  in  the  mud ;  nor  can-any  one  form  a  satisfactory 
idea  of  the  object  the  great  Author  of  nature  had  in  view, 
in  thus  profusely  beautifying  creatures  occupying  so  low 
a  place  in  the  scale  of  creation. 

European  naturalists  have  hitherto  fallen  into  the 
strangest  absurdities  concerning  the  motion  of  the  bi- 
valved  shells,  which  five  minutes'  observation  of  nature 
would  have  served  them  to  correct.  Thus  they  describe 
the  upper  part  of  the  shell  as  the  lower,  and  the  hind  part 
as  the  front,  and  speak  of  them  as  moving  along  on  their 
rounded  convex  surface,  like  a  boat  on  its  keel ;  instead 
of  advancing  with  the  edges  or  open  part  of  the  shell  to- 
wards the  earth.  All  these  mistakes  have  been  corrected, 
and  the  true  mode  of  progression  indicated  from  actual 
observation,  by  our  fellow  citizen,  Isaac  Lea,  whose  re- 
cently published  communications  to  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  reflect  the  highest  credit  upon  their 
author,  who  is  a  naturalist  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term. 

As  I  wandered  slowly  along  the  borders  of  the  run, 
towards  a  little  wood,  my  attention  was  caught  by  a  con- 
siderable collection  of  shells  lying  near  an  old  stump. 
Many  of  these  appeared  to  have  been  recently  emptied 
of  their  contents,  and  others  seemed  to  have  long  re- 
mained exposed  to  the  weather.  On  most  of  them,  at  the 
thinnest  part  of  the  edge,  a  peculiar  kind  of  fracture  was 
obvious,  and  this  seemed  to  be  the  work  of  an  animal. 


A  NATURALIST.  53 

A  closer  examination  of  the  locality  showed  the  foot- 
steps of  a  quadruped  which  I  readily  believed  to  be  the 
muskrat,  more  especially  as  upon  examining  the  adjacent 
banks  numerous  traces  of  burrows  were  discoverable.  It 
is  not  a  little  singular  that  this  animal,  unlike  all  others 
of  the  larger  gnawers,  as  the  beaver,  &c.  appears  to  in- 
crease instead  of  diminishing  with  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation. Whether  it  is  that  the  dams  and  other  works 
thrown  up  by  men,  afford  more  favourable  situations  for 
their  multiplication,  or  their  favourite  food  is  found  in 
greater  abundance,  they  certainly  are  quite  as  numerous 
now,  if  not  more  so,  than  when  the  country  was  first  dis- 
covered, and  are  to  be  found  at  this  time  almost  within 
the  limits  of  the  city.  By  the  construction  of  their  teeth, 
as  well  as  all  the  parts  of  the  body,  they  are  closely  allied 
to  the  rat  kind ;  though  in  size  and  some  peculiarities  of 
habit,  they  more  closely  approximate  the  beaver.  They 
resemble  the  rat  especially,  in  not  being  exclusively 
herbivorous,  as  is  shown  by  their  feeding  on  the  uniones 
or  muscles  above  mentioned.  To  obtain  this  food,  re- 
quires no  small  exertion  of  their  strength ;  and  they  ac- 
complish it  by  introducing  the  claws  of  their  fore-paws 
between  the  two  edges  of  the  shell,  and  tearing  it  open 
by  main  force.  Whoever  has  tried  to  force  open  one  of 
these  shells,  containing  a  living  animal,  may  form  an 
idea  of  the  effort  made  by  the  muskrat: — the  strength  of 
a  strong  man  would  be  requisite  to  produce  the  same  re- 
sult in  the  same  way. 

5* 


54  RAMBLES  OF 

The  burrows  of  muskrats  are  very  extensive,  and  con- 
sequently injurious  to  dykes  and  dams,  meadow  banks, 
&c.  The  entrance  is  always  under  water,  and  thence 
sloping  upwards  above  the  level  of  the  water,  so  that  the 
muskrat  has  to  dive  in  going  in  and  out.  These  crea- 
tures are  excellent  divers  and  swimmers,  and  being  noc- 
turnal are  rarely  seen  unless  by  those  who  watch  for 
them  at  night.  Sometimes  we  alarm  one  near  the  mouth 
of  the  den,  and  he  darts  away  across  the  water,  near  the 
bottom,  marking  his  course  by  a  turbid  streak  in  the 
stream :  occasionally  we  are  made  aware  of  the  passage 
of  one  to  some  distance  down  the  current  in  the  same 
way ;  but  in  both  cases  the  action  is  so  rapidly  performed, 
that  we  should  scarcely  imagine  what  was  the  cause,  if 
not  previously  informed.  Except  by  burrowing  into  and 
spoiling  the  banks,  they  are  not  productive  of  much  evil, 
their  food  consisting  principally  of  the  roots  of  aquatic 
plants,  in  addition  to  shellfish.  The  musky  odour,  which 
gives  rise  to  their  common  name,  is  caused  by  glandular 
organs  placed  near  the  tail,  filled  with  a  viscid  and  power- 
fully musky  fluid,  whose  uses  we  know  but  little  of, 
though  it  is  thought  to  be  intended  as  a  guide  by  which 
these  creatures  may  discover  each  other.  This  inference 
is  strengthened  by  finding  some  such  contrivance  in  dif- 
ferent races  of  animals,  in  various  modifications.  A 
great  number  carry  it  in  pouches  similar  to  those  just 
mentioned.  Some,  as  the  musk  animal,  have  the  pouch 
under  the  belly;  the  shrew  has  the  glands  on  the  side; 


A  NATURALIST.  55 

the  camel  on  the  back  of  the  neck;  the  crocodile  under 
the  throat,  &c.  At  least  no  other  use  has  ever  been  as- 
signed  for  this  apparatus ;  and  in  all  creatures  possess- 
ing- it,  the  arrangement  seems  to  be  adapted  peculiarly 
to  the  habits  of  the  animals.  The  crocodile,  for  instance, 
generally  approaches  the  shore  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
apply  the  neck  and  throat  to  the  soil,  while  the  hinder 
part  of  the  body  is  under  water.  The  glands  under  the 
throat  leave  the  traces  of  his  presence,  therefore,  with 
ease,  as  they  come  in  contact  with  the  shore.  The  glan- 
dular apparatus  on  the  back  of  the  neck  of  the  male  ca- 
mel, seems  to  have  reference  to  the  general  elevation  of 
the  olfactory  organs  of  the  female ;  and  the  dorsal  gland 
of  the  peccary,  no  doubt  has  some  similar  relation  to  the 
peculiarities  of  the  race. 

The  value  of  the  fur  of  the  muskrat  causes  many  of 
them  to  be  destroyed,  which  is  easily  enough  effected  by 
means  of  a  trap.  This  is  a  simple  box,  formed  of  rough 
boards  nailed  together,  about  three  feet  long,  having  an 
iron  door,  made  of  pointed  bars,  opening  inwards,  at  both 
ends  of  the  box.  This  trap  is  placed  with  the  end  oppo- 
site to  the  entrance  of  a  burrow  observed  during  the  day 
time.  In  the  night  when  the  muskrat  sallies  forth,  he 
enters  the  box,  instead  of  passing  into  the  open  air,  and 
is  drowned,  as  the  box  is  quite  filled  with  water.  If  the 
traps  be  visited  and  emptied  during  the  night,  two  may 
be  caught  in  each  trap,  as  muskrats  from  other  burrows 
may  come  to  visit  those  where  the  traps  are  placed,  and 


56  RAMBLES  OF 

thus  one  be  taken  going  in  as  well  as  on  coming  out. 
These  animals  are  frequently  very  fat,  and  their  flesh 
has  a  very  wholesome  appearance,  and  would  probably 
prove  good  food.  The  musky  odour,  however,  prejudices 
strongly  against  its  use  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  flesh 
is  rank,  as  the  muscles  it  feeds  on  are  nauseous  and  bit- 
ter, and  the  roots  which  supply  the  rest  of  its  food  are 
generally  unpleasant  and  acrid.  Still  we  should  not 
hesitate  to  partake  of  its  flesh  in  case  of  necessity,  espe- 
cially if  of  a  young  animal,  from  which  the  musk  bag 
had  been  removed  immediately  after  it  was  killed. 

In  this  vicinity,  the  muskrat  does  not  build  himself  a 
house  for  the  winter,  as  our  fields  and  dykes  are  too  often 
visited.  But  in  other  parts  of  the  country  where  exten- 
sive marshes  exist,  and  muskrats  are  abundant,  they 
build  very  snug  and  substantial  houses,  quite  as  service- 
able and  ingenious  as  those  of  the  beaver.  They  do  not 
dam  the  water  as  the  beaver,  nor  cut  branches  of  trees 
to  serve  for  the  walls  of  their  dwellings.  They  make  it 
of  mud  and  rushes,  raising  a  cone  two  or  three  feet  high, 
having  the  entrance  on  the  south  side  under  water. 
About  the  year  1804,  I  saw  several  of  them  in  Worrell's 
marsh,  near  Chestertown,  Maryland,  which  were  pointed 
out  to  me  by  an  old  black  man  who  made  his  living  prin- 
cipally by  trapping  these  animals,  for  the  sake  of  their 
skins.  A  few  years  since  I  visited  the  marshes,  near  the 
mouth  of  Magerthy  river  in  Maryland,  where  I  was  in- 
formed by  a  resident,  that  the  muskrats  still  built  regu- 


A  NATURALIST.  57 

larly  every  winter.  Perhaps  these  quadrupeds  are  as 
numerous  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  as  elsewhere, 
as  I  have  never  examined  a  stream  of  fresh  water,  dyked 
meadow,  or  milldam,  hereabout,  without  seeing  traces  of 
vast  numbers.  Along  all  the  water  courses  and  meadows 
in  Jersey,  opposite  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  meadows  of 
the  neck,  below  the  navy  yard,  there  must  be  large  num- 
bers of  muskrats.  Considering  the  value  of  the  fur,  and 
the  ease  and  trifling  expense  at  which  they  might  be 
caught,  we  have  often  felt  surprised  that  more  of  them 
are  not  taken,  especially  as  we  have  so  many  poor  men 
complaining  of  wanting  something  to  do.  By  thinning 
the  number  of  muskrats,  a  positive  benefit  would  be  con- 
ferred  on  the  farmers  and  furriers,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
profits  to  the  individual. 


58  RAMBLES  OF 


NO.  IV. 


My  next  visit  to  my  old  hunting-  ground,  the  lane  and 
brook,  happened  on  a  day  in  the  first  hay  harvest,  when 
the  verdant  sward  of  the  meadows  was  rapidly  sinking 
before  the  keen  edged  scythes  swung  by  vigorous  mowers. 
This  unexpected  circumstance  afforded  me  considerable 
pleasure,  for  it  promised  me  a  freer  scope  to  my  wander- 
ings, and  might  also  enable  me  to  ascertain  various  par- 
ticulars, concerning  which  my  curiosity  had  long  been 
awakened.  Nor  was  this  promise  unattended  by  fruition 
of  my  wishes.  The  reader  may  recollect,  that,  in  my 
first  walk,  a  neat  burrow  in  the  grass,  above  ground,  was 
observed,  without  my  knowing  its  author.  The  advance 
of  the  mowers  explained  this  satisfactorily,  for  in  cutting 
the  long  grass,  they  exposed  several  nests  of  field  mice, 
which,  by  means  of  these  grass-covered  alleys,  passed  to 
the  stream  in  search  of  food  or  drink,  unseen  by  their 
enemies,  the  hawks  and  owls.  The  numbers  of  these 
little  creatures  were  truly  surprising ;  their  fecundity  is 
so  great,  and  their  food  so  abundant,  that  were  they  not 
preyed  upon  by  many  other  animals,  and  destroyed  in 


A  NATURALIST.  59 

great  numbers  by  man,  they  would  become  exceedingly 
troublesome.  There  are  various  species  of  them,  all  bear- 
ing a  very  considerable  resemblance  to  each  other,  and 
having  to  an  incidental  observer  much  of  the  appearance 
of  the  domestic  mouse.  Slight  attention,  however,  is  re- 
quisite to  perceive  very  striking  differences,  and  the  dis- 
crimination of  these  will  prove  a  source  of  considerable 
gratification  to  the  enquirer.  The  nests  are  very  nicely 
made,  and  look  much  like  a  bird's  nest,  being  lined  with 
soft  materials,  and  usually  placed  in  some  snug  little 
hollow,  or  at  the  root  of  a  strong  tuft  of  grass.  Upon  the 
grass  roots  and  seeds  these  nibblers  principally  feed ;  and 
where  very  abundant,  the  effects  of  their  hunger  may  be 
seen  in  the  brown  and  withered  aspect  of  the  grass  they 
have  injured  at  the  root.  But  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, the  hawks,  owls,  domestic  cat,  weasels,  crows, 
&c.  keep  them  in  such  limits,  as  prevent  them  from  do- 
ing essential  damage. 

I  had  just  observed  another  and  a  smaller  grassy 
covered  way,  where  the  mowers  had  passed  along,  when 
my  attention  was  called  towards  a  wagon  at  a  short  dis- 
tance, which  was  receiving  its  load.  Shouts  and  laughter, 
accompanied  by  a  general  running  and  scrambling  of  the 
people,  indicated  that  some  rare  sport  was  going  forward. 
When  I  approached,  I  found  that  the  object  of  chase  was 
a  jumping  mouse,  whose  actions  it  was  truly  delightful 
to  witness.  When  not  closely  pressed  by  its  pursuers,  it 
ran  with  some  rapidity  in  the  usual  manner,  as  if  seek- 


60  RAMBLES  OF 

ing  concealment.  But  in  a  moment  it  would  vault  into 
the  air,  and  skim  along-  for  ten  or  twelve  feet,  looking 
more  like  a  bird  than  a  little  quadruped.  After  con- 
tinuing this  for  some  time,  and  nearly  exhausting  its  pur- 
suers with  running  and  falling  over  each  other,  the 
frightened  creature  was  accidentally  struck  down  by  one 
of  the  workmen,  during  one  of  its  beautiful  leaps,  and 
killed.  As  the  hunters  saw  nothing  worthy  of  attention 
in  the  dead  body  of  the  animal,  they  very  willingly  re- 
signed it  to  me ;  and  with  great  satisfaction  I  retreated 
to  a  willow  shade,  to  read  what  nature  had  written  in  its 
form  for  my  instruction.  The  general  appearance  was 
mouse-like ;  but  the  length  and  slenderness  of  the  body, 
the  shortness  of  its  fore  limbs,  and  the  disproportionate 
length  of  its  hind  limbs,  together  with  the  peculiarity  of 
its  tail,  all  indicated  its  adaptation  to  the  peculiar  kind 
of  action  I  had  just  witnessed.  A  sight  of  this  little 
creature  vaulting  or  bounding  through  the  air,  strongly 
reminded  me  of  what  I  had  read  of  the  great  kanguroo 
of  New  Holland ;  and  I  could  not  help  regarding  our 
little  jumper  as  in  some  respects  a  sort  of  miniature  re- 
semblance of  that  curious  animal.  It  was  not  evident, 
however,  that  the  jumping  mouse  derived  the  aid  from  its 
tail,  which  so  powerfully  assists  the  kanguroo.  Though 
long  and  sufficiently  stout  in  proportion,  it  had  none  of 
the  robust  muscularity  which,  in  the  New  Holland  ani- 
mal, impels  the  lower  part  of  the  body  immediately  up- 
ward. In  this  mouse,  the  leap  is  principally,  if  not  en- 


A  NATUBALIST.  61 

tirely  effected  by  a  sudden  and  violent  extension  of  the 
long  hind  limbs,  the  muscles  of  which  are  strong,  and 
admirably  suited  to  their  object.  We  have  heard  that 
these  little  animals  feed  on  the  roots,  &c.  of  the  green 
herbage,  and  that  they  are  every  season  to  be  found  in 
the  meadows.  It  may  perhaps  puzzle  some  to  imagine 
how  they  subsist  through  the  severities  of  winter,  when 
vegetation  is  at  rest,  and  the  earth  generally  frozen. 
Here  we  find  another  occasion  to  admire  the  all-perfect 
designs  of  the  awful  Author  of  nature,  who  has  endowed 
a  great  number  of  animals  with  the  faculty  of  retiring 
into  the  earth,  and  passing  whole  months  in  a  state  of 
repose  so  complete,  as  to  allow  all  the  functions  of  the 
body  to  be  suspended,  until  the  returning  warmth  of  the 
spring  calls  them  forth  to  renewed  activity  and  enjoy- 
ment.  The  jumping  mouse,  when  the  chill  weather  be- 
gins to  draw  nigh,  digs  down  about  six  or  eight  inches 
into  the  soil,  and  there  forms  a  little  globular  cell,  as 
much  larger  than  his  own  body  as  will  allow  a  sufficient 
covering  of  fine  grass  to  be  introduced.  This  being  ob- 
tained, he  contrives  to  coil  up  his  body  and  limbs  in  the 
centre  of  the  soft  dry  grass,  so  as  to  form  a  complete  ball; 
and  so  compact  is  this,  that,  when  taken  out,  with  the 
torpid  animal,  it  may  be  rolled  across  a  floor  without  in- 
jury. In  this  snug  cell,  which  is  soon  filled  up  and 
closed  externally,  the  jumping  mouse  securely  abides 
through  all  the  frosts  and  storms  of  winter,  needing 
neither  food  nor  fuel,  being  utterly  quiescent,  and  appa- 

6 


62  RAMBLES  OF 

rently  dead,  though  susceptible  at  any  time  of  reanima- 
tion,  by  being  very  gradually  stimulated  by  light  and 
heat. 

The  little  burrow  under  examination,  when  called  to 
observe  the  jumping  mouse,  proved  to  be  made  by  the 
merry  musicians  of  the  meadows,  the  field  crickets, 
acheta  campestris.  These  lively  black  crickets  are  very 
numerous,  and  contribute  very  largely  to  that  general 
song  which  is  so  delightful  to  the  ear  of  the  true  lover  of 
nature,  as  it  rises  on  the  air  from  myriads  of  happy  crea- 
tures rejoicing  amid  the  bounties  conferred  on  them  by 
Providence.  It  is  not  a  voice  that  the  crickets  utter,  but 
a  regular  vibration  of  musical  chords,  produced  by  nib- 
bing the  nervures  of  the  elytra  against  a  sort  of  network 
intended  to  produce  the  vibrations.  The  reader  will  find 
an  excellent  description  of  the  apparatus  in  Kirby  and 
Spence's  book,  but  he  may  enjoy  a  much  more  satisfac- 
tory comprehension  of  the  whole,  by  visiting  the  field 
cricket  in  his  summer  residence,  see  him  tuning  his  viol, 
and  awakening  the  echoes  with  his  music.  By  such  an 
examination  as  may  be  there  obtained,  he  may  derive 
more  knowledge  than  by  frequent  perusal  of  the  most 
eloquent  writings,  and  perhaps  observe  circumstances 
which  the  learned  authors  are  utterly  ignorant  of. 

Among  the  great  variety  of  burrows  formed  in  the 
grass,  or  under  the  surfuce  of  the  soil,  by  various  ani- 
mals and  insects,  there  is  one  that  I  have  often  anxiously 
and  as  yet  fruitlessly  explored.  This  burrow  is  formed 


A  NATURALIST.  63 

by  the  smallest  quadruped-  animal  known  to  man,  the 
minute  shrew,  which,  when  full  grown,  rarely  exceeds 
the  weight  of  thirty-six  grains.  I  had  seen  specimens 
of  this  very  interesting  creature  in  the  museum,  and  had 
been  taught,  by  a  more  experienced  friend,  to  distinguish 
its  burrow,  which  I  have  often  perseveringly  traced,  with 
the  hope  of  finding  the  living  animal,  but  in  vain.  On 
one  occasion,  I  patiently  pursued  a  burrow  nearly  round 
a  large  barn,  opening  it  all  the  way.  I  followed  it  under 
the  barn  floor,  which  was  sufficiently  high  to  allow  me  to 
crawl  beneath.  There  I  traced  it  about  to  a  tiresome  ex- 
tent, and  was  at  length  rewarded  by  discovering  where 
it  terminated,  under  a  foundation  stone,  perfectly  safe 
from  my  attempts.  Most  probably  a  whole  family  of 
them  were  then  present,  and  I  had  my  labour  for  my 
pains.  As  these  little  creatures  are  nocturnal,  and  are 
rarely  seen  from  the  nature  of  the  places  they  frequent, 
the  most  probable  mode  of  taking  them  alive  would  be, 
by  placing  a  small  mousetrap  in  their  way,  baited  with 
a  little  tainted  or  slightly  spoiled  meat.  If  a  common 
mouse  trap  be  used,  it  is  necessary  to  work  it  over  with 
additional  wire,  as  this  shrew  could  pass  between  the 
bars  even  of  a  close  mouse  trap.  They  are  sometimes 
killed  by  cats,  and  thus  obtained,  as  the  cat  never  eats 
them,  perhaps  on  account  of  their  rank  smell,  owing  to 
a  peculiar  glandular  apparatus  on  each  side,  that  pours 
out  a  powerfully  odorous  greasy  substance.  The  species 
of  the  shrew  genus  are  not  all  so  exceedingly  diminutive, 


64  RAMBLES  OF 

as  some  of  them  are  even  larger  than  a  common  mouse. 
They  have  their  teeth  coloured  at  the  tips  in  a  remarkable 
manner ;  it  is  generally  of  a  pitchy  brown,  or  dark  chest- 
nut hue,  and,  like  the  colouring  of  the  teeth  in  the  beaver 
and  other  animals,  is  owing  to  the  enamel  being  thus 
formed,  and  not  to  any  mere  accident  of  diet.  The 
shrews  are  most  common  about  stables  and  cow-houses; 
and  there,  should  I  ever  take  the  field  again,  my  traps 
shall  be  set,  as  my  desire  to  have  one  of  these  little  quad- 
rupeds is  still  as  great  as  ever. 


A  NATURALIST.  65 


NO.  V. 

Hitherto  my  rambles  have  been  confined  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  single  spot,  with  a  view  of  showing  how 
perfectly  accessible  to  all,  are  numerous  and  various  in- 
teresting natural  objects.  This  habit  of  observing  in  the 
manner  indicated,  began  many  years  anterior  to  my  visit 
to  the  spots  heretofore  mentioned,  and  have  extended 
through  many  parts  of  our  own  and  another  country. 
Henceforward  my  observations  shall  be  presented  with- 
out  reference  to  particular  places,  or  even  of  one  place 
exclusively,  but  with  a  view  to  illustrate  whatever  may  be 
the  subject  of  description,  by  giving  all  I  have  observed 
of  it  under  various  circumstances. 

A  certain  time  of  my  life  was  spent  in  that  part  of 
Anne  Arundel  county,  Md.  which  is  washed  by  the  river 
Patapsco  on  the  north,  the  great  Chesapeake  bay  on  the 
west,  and  the  Severn  river  on  the  south.  It  is  in  every  di- 
rection cut  up  by  creeks,  or  arms  of  the  rivers  and  bay, 
into  long,  flat  strips  of  land,  called  necks,  the  greater  part 
of  which  is  covered  by  dense  pine  forests,  or  thickets  of 
small  shrubs  and  saplings,  rendered  impervious  to  human 
footsteps  by  the  growth  of  vines,  whose  inextricable 


66  RAMBLES  OF 

mazes  nothing  but  a  fox,  wild  cat,  or  weasel,  could  thread. 
The  soil  cleared  for  cultivation  is  very  generally  poor, 
light,  and  sandy,  though  readily  susceptible  of  improve- 
ment,  and  yielding  a  considerable  produce  in  Indian  corn, 
and  most  of  the  early  garden  vegetables,  by  the  raising 
of  which  for  the  Baltimore  market  the  inhabitants  obtain 
all  their  ready  money.  The  blight  of  slavery  has  long 
extended  its  influence  over  this  region,  where  all  its  usual 
effects  are  but  too  obviously  visible.  The  white  inhabit- 
ants are  few  in  number,  widely  distant  from  each  other, 
and  manifest,  in. their  mismanagement  and  half  indigent 
circumstances,  how  trifling  an  advantage  they  derive 
from  the  thraldom  of  their  dozen  or  more  of  sturdy 
blacks,  of  different  sexes  and  ages.  The  number  of 
marshes  formed  at  the  heads  of  the  creeks,  render  this 
country  frightfully  unhealthy  in  autumn,  at  which  time 
the  life  of  a  resident  physician  is  one  of  incessant  toil 
and  severe  privation.  Riding  from  morning  till  night, 
to  get  round  to  visit  a  few  patients,  his  road  leads  gener- 
ally through  pine  forests,  whose  aged  and  lofty  trees,  en- 
circled by  a  dense  undergrowth,  impart  an  air  of  sombre 
and  unbroken  solitude.  Rarely  or  never  does  he  en- 
counter a  white  person  on  his  way,  and  only  once  in  a 
while  will  he  see  a  miserably  tattered  negro,  seated  on  a 
sack  of  corn,  carried  by  a  starveling  horse  or  mule,  which 
seems  poorly  able  to  bear  the  weight  to  the  nearest  mill. 
The  red-head  woodpecker,  and  the  flicker  or  yellow- 
hammer,  a  kindred  species,  occasionally  glance  across  his 


A  NATURALIST.  67 

path ;  sometimes  when  he  turns  his  horse  to  drink  at  the 
dark  coloured  branch,  (as  such  streams  are  locally  called,) 
he  disturbs  a  solitary  rufous  thrush  engaged  in  washing 
its  plumes ;  or  as  he  moves  steadily  along,  he  is  slightly 
startled  by  a  sudden  appearance  of  the  towhe  bunting 
close  to  the  side  of  the  path.  Except  these  creatures,  and 
these  by  no  means  frequently  seen,  he  rarely  meets 
with  animated  objects ;  at  a  distance  the  harsh  voice  of 
the  crow  is  often  heard,  or  flocks  of  them  are  observed 
in  the  cleared  fields,  while  now  and  then  the  buzzard,  or 
turkey  vulture,  may  be  seen  wheeling  in  graceful  circles 
in  the  higher  regions  of  the  air,  sustained  by  his  broadly 
expanded  wings,  which  apparently  remain  hi  a  state  of 
permanent  and  motionless  extension.  At  other  seasons 
of  the  year,  the  physician  must  be  content  to  live  in  the 
most  positive  seclusion ;  the  white  people  are  ah*  busily 
employed  in  going  to  and  from  market ;  and  even  were 
they  at  home,  they  are  poorly  suited  for  companionship. 
I  here  spent  month  after  month,  and,  except  the  patients 
I  visited,  saw  no  one  but  the  blacks ;  the  house  in  which 
1  boarded  was  kept  by  a  widower,  who,  with  myself,  was 
the  only  white  man  within  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two. 
My  only  compensation  was  this,  the  house  was  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  bank  of  Curtis's  creek,  a  considerable  arm 
of  the  Patapsco,  which  extended  for  a  mile  or  two  beyond 
us,  and  immediately  in  front  of  the  door  expanded  so  as 
to  form  a  beautiful  little  bay.  Of  books  I  possessed  very 
few,  and  those  exclusively  professional ;  but  in  this  beau- 


68  RAMBLES  OF 

tiful  expanse  of  sparkling  water,  I  had  a  book  opened 
before  me,  which  a  life-time  would  scarcely  suffice  me  to 
read  through.  With  the  advantage  of  a  small  but  neatly 
made  and  easily  manageable  skiff,  I  was  always  inde- 
pendent of  the  service  of  the  blacks,  which  was  ever  re. 
pugnant  to  my  feelings  and  principles.  I  could  convey 
myself  in  whatever  direction  objects  of  enquiry  might  pre- 
sent, and  as  my  little  bark  was  visible  for  a  mile  in  either 
direction  from  the  house,  a  handkerchief  waved,  or  the 
loud  shout  of  a  negro,  was  sufficient  to  recall  me,  in  case 
my  services  were  required. 

During  the  spring  months,  and  while  the  garden  vege. 
tables  are  yet  too  young  to  need  a  great  deal  of  attention, 
the  proprietors  frequently  employ  their  blacks  in  hauling 
the  seine ;  and  this  in  these  creeks  is  productive  of  an 
ample  supply  of  yellow  perch,  which  affords  a  very  valua- 
ble addition  to  the  diet  of  all.  The  blacks  in  an  especial 
mariner  profit  by  this  period  of  plenty,  since  they  are 
permitted  to  eat  of  them  without  restraint,  which  cannot 
be  said  of  any  other  sort  of  provision  allowed  them.  Even 
the  pigs  and  crows  obtain  their  share  of  the  abundance, 
as  the  fishermen,  after  picking  out  the  best  fish,  throw 
the  smaller  ones  on  the  beach.  But  as  the  summer  months 
approach,  the  aquatic  grass  begins  to  grow,  and  this  fish- 
ing can  no  longer  be  continued,  because  the  grass  rolls 
the  seine  up  in  a  wisp,  so  that  it  can  contain  nothing. 
At  this  time  the  spawning  season  of  the  different  species 
of  sun-fish  begins,  and  to  me  this  was  a  time  of  much 


A  NATURALIST.  69 

gratification.  Along  the  edge  of  the  river,  where  the 
depth  of  water  was  not  greater  than  from  four  feet  to  as 
shallow  as  twelve  inches,  an  observer  would  discover  a 
succession  of  circular  spots  cleared  of  the  surrounding 
grass,  and  showing  a  clear  sandy  bed.  These  spots,  or 
cleared  spaces,  we  may  regard  as  the  nest  of  this  beauti- 
ful fish.  There,  balanced  hi  the  transparent  wave,  at  the 
distance  of  six  or  eight  inches  from  the  bottom,  the  sun- 
fish  is  suspended  in  the  glittering  sunshine,  gently  sway- 
ing its  beautiful  tail  and  fins ;  or,  wheeling  around  in  the 
limits  of  its  little  circle,  appears  to  be  engaged  in  keep- 
ing it  clear  of  all  incumbrances.  Here  the  mother  de- 
posits her  eggs  or  spawn,  and  never  did  hen  guard  her 
callow  brood  with  more  eager  vigilance,  than  the  sun-fish 
the  little  circle  within  which  her  promised  offspring  are 
deposited.  If  another  individual  approach  too  closely  to 
her  borders,  with  a  fierce  and  angry  air  she  darts  against 
it,  and  forces  it  to  retreat.  Should  any  small,  and  not  too 
heavy  object  be  dropped  in  the  nest,  it  is  examined  with 
jealous  attention,  and  displaced  if  the  owner  be  not  satis- 
fied of  its  harmlessness.  At  the  approach  of  man  she 
flies  with  great  velocity  into  deep  water,  as  if  willing  to 
conceal  that  her  presence  was  more  than  accidental  where 
first  seen.  She  may,  after  a  few  minutes,  be  seen  cau- 
tiously venturing  to  return,  which  is  at  length  done  with 
velocity ;  then  she  would  take  a  hurried  turn  or  two 
around,  and  scud  back  again  to  the  shady  bowers  formed 
by  the  river  grass  which  grows  up  from  the  bottom  to 


70  RAMBLES  OF 

within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface,  and  attains  to  twelve, 
fifteen,  or  more  feet  in  length.  Again  she  ventures  forth 
from  the  depths ;  and  if  no  further  cause  of  fear  present- 
ed, would  gently  sail  into  the  placid  circle  of  her  home, 
and  with  obvious  satisfaction  explore  it  in  every  part. 

Besides  the  absolute  pleasure  I  derived  from  visiting 
the  habitations  of  these  glittering  tenants  of  the  river, 
hanging  over  them  from  my  little  skiff,  and  watching 
their  every  action,  they  frequently  furnished  me  with  a 
very  acceptable  addition  to  my  frugal  table.  Situated  as 
my  boarding  house  was,  and  all  the  inmates  of  the  house 
busily  occupied  in  raising  vegetables  to  be  sent  to  market, 
our  bill  of  fare  offered  little  other  change  than  could  be 
produced  by  varying  the  mode  of  cookery.  It  was  either 
broiled  bacon  and  potatoes,  or  fried  bacon  and  potatoes, 
or  cold  bacon  and  potatoes,  and  so  on  at  least  six  days 
out  of  seven.  But,  as  soon  as  I  became  acquainted  with 
the  habits  of  the  sun-fish,  I  procured  a  neat  circular  iron 
hoop  for  a  net ;  secured  to  it  a  piece  of  an  old  seine,  and 
whenever  I  desired  to  dine  on.  fresh  fish,  it  tvas  only  ne- 
cessary to  take  my  skiff,  and  push  her  gently  along  from 
one  sun-fish  nest  to  another,  myriads  of  which  might  be 
seen  along  all  the  shore.  The  fish,  of  course,  darted  off 
as  soon  as  the  boat  first  drew  near,  and  during  this  absence 
the  net  was  placed  so  as  to  cover  the  nest,  of  the  bottom 
of  which  the  meshes  but  slightly  intercepted  the  view. 
Finding  all  things  quiet,  and  not  being  disturbed  by  the 
net,  the  fish  would  resume  its  central  station,  the  net  was 


A  NATURALIST.  71 

suddenly  raised,  and  the  captive  placed  in  the  boat.  In 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  I  could  generally  take  as  many  in 
this  way  as  would  serve  two  men  for  dinner,  and  when 
an  acquaintance  accidentally  called  to  see  me,  during  the 
season  of  sun-fish,  it  was  always  in  my  power  to  lessen 
our  dependence  on  the  endless  ba'con.  I  could  also  always 
select  the  finest  and  largest  of  these  fish,  as  while  stand- 
ing up  in  the  boat,  one  could  see  a  considerable  number 
at  once,  and  thus  choose  the  best.  Such  was  their  abun- 
dance, that  the  next  day  would  find  all  the  nests  re-occu- 
pied. Another  circumstance  connected  with  this  matter 
gave  me  no  small  satisfaction ;  the  poor  blacks,  who  could 
rarely  get  time  for  angling,  soon  learned  how  to  use  my 
net  with  dexterity ;  and  thus,  in  the  ordinary  time  al- 
lowed them  for  dinner,  would  borrow  it,  run  down  to  the 
shore,  and  catch  some  fish  to  add  to  their  very  moderate 
allowance. 


72  EAMBLES  OF 


NO.  VI. 

After  the  sun-fish,  as  regular  annual  visitants  of  the 
small  rivers  and  creeks  containing  salt  or  brackish  water, 
came  the  crabs  in  vast  abundance,  though  for  a  very  dif- 
ferent purpose.  These  singularly  constructed  and  inter- 
esting beings  furnished  me  with  another  excellent  subject 
for  observation;  and,  during  the  period  of  their  visitation, 
my  skiff  was  in  daily  requisition.  Floating  along  with  an 
almost  imperceptible  motion,  a  person  looking  from  the 
shore  might  have  supposed  her  entirely  adrift ;  for  as  I 
was  stretched  at  full  length  across  the  seats,  in  order  to 
bring  my  sight  as  close  to  the  water  as  possible  without 
inconvenience,  no  one  would  have  observed  my  presence 
from  a  little  distance.  The  crabs  belong  to  a  very  exten- 
sive tribe  of  beings,  which  carry  their  skeletons  on  the 
outside  of  their  bodies,  instead  of  within  ;  and  of  neces- 
sity the  fleshy,  muscular,  or  moving  power  of  the  body, 
is  placed  in  a  situation  the  reverse  of  what  occurs  in  ani- 
mals of  a  higher  order,  which  have  internal  skeletons  or 
solid  frames  to  their  systems.  This  peculiarity  of  the 
crustaceous  animals  and  various  other  beings,  is  attended 
with  one  apparent  inconvenience;  when  they  have  grown 


A  NATURALIST.  73 

large  enough  to  fill  their  shell  or  skeleton  completely, 
they  cannot  grow  farther,  because  the  skeleton  being  ex- 
ternal,  is  incapable  of  enlargement.  To  obviate  this  diffi- 
culty, the  Author  of  nature  has  endowed  them  with  the 
power  of  casting  off  the  entire  shell,  increasing  in  size, 
and  forming  another  equally  hard  and  perfect,  for  several 
seasons  successively,  until  the  greatest  or  maximum  size 
is  attained,  when  the  change  or  sloughing  ceases  to  be 
necessary,  though  it  is  not  always  discontinued  on  that 
account.  To  undergo  this  change  with  greater  ease  and 
security,  the  crabs  seek  retired  and  peaceful  waters,  such 
as  the  beautiful  creek  I  have  been  speaking  of,  whose 
clear,  sandy  shores  are  rarely  disturbed  by  waves  causing 
more  than  a  pleasing  murmur,  and  where  the  number  of 
enemies  must  be  far  less  in  proportion  than  in  the  bois- 
terous waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  their  great  place  of 
concourse.  From  the  first  day  of  their  arrival  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  June,  until  the  time  of  their  departure,  which 
in  this  creek  occurred  towards  the  first  of  August,  it  was 
astonishing  to  witness  the  vast  multitudes  which  flocked 
towards  the  head  of  the  stream. 

It  is  not  until  they  have  been  for  some  time  in  the 
creek,  that  the  moult  or  sloughing  generally  commences. 
They  may  bs  then  observed  gradually  coming  closer  in 
shore,  to  where  the  sand  is  fine,  fairly  exposed  to  the  sun, 
and  a  short  distance  farther  out  than  the  lowest  water 
mark,  as  they  must  always  have  at  least  a  depth  of  three 
or  four  inches  water  upon  them. 
7 


74  RAMBLES  OP 

The  individual  having  selected  his  place,  becomes  per- 
fectly quiescent,  and  no  change  is  observed  during  some 
hours  but  a  sort  of  swelling  along  the  edges  of  the  great 
upper  shell  at  its  back  part.  After  a  time  this  posterior 
edge  of  the  shell  becomes  fairly  disengaged  like  the  lid 
of  a  chest,  and  now  begins  the  more  difficult  work  of  with- 
drawing the  great  claws  from  their  cases,  which  every  one 
recollects  to  be  vastly  larger  at  their  extremities  and  be- 
tween the  joints  than  the  joints  themselves.  A  still 
greater  apparent  difficulty  presents  in  the  shedding  of  the 
sort  of  tendon  which  is  placed  within  the  muscles.  Never- 
theless, the  Author  of  nature  has  adapted  them  to  the 
accomplishment  of  all  this.  The  disproportionate  sized 
claws  undergo  a  peculiar  softening,  which  enables  the 
crab,  by  a  very  steadily  continued,  scarcely  perceptible 
effort,  to  pull  them  out  of  their  shells,  and  the  business 
is  completed  by  the  separation  of  the  complex  parts  about 
the  mouth  and  eyes.  The  crab  now  slips  out  from  the 
slough,  settling  near  it  on  the  sand.  It  is  now  covered 
by  a  soft,  perfectly  flexible  skin ;  and  though  possessing 
precisely  the  same  form  as  before,  seems  incapable  of  the 
slightest  exertion.  Notwithstanding  that  such  is  its  con- 
dition, while  you  are  gazing  on  this  helpless  creature,  it 
is  sinking  in  the  fine  loose  sand,  and  in  a  short  time  is 
covered  up  sufficiently  to  escape  the  observation  of  care- 
less  or  inexperienced  observers.  Neither  can  one  say  how 
this  is  effected,  although  it  occurs  under  their  immediate 
observation;  the  motions  employed  to  produce  the  dis- 


A  NATURALIST.  75 

placement  of  the  sand  are  too  slight  to  be  appreciated, 
though  it  is  most  probably  owing  to  a  gradual  lateral 
motion  of  the  body  by  which  the  sand  is  displaced  in  the 
centre  beneath,  and  thus  gradually  forced  up  at  the  sides 
until  it  falls  over  and  covers  the  crab.  Examine  him 
within  twelve  hours,  and  you  will  find  the  skin  becoming 
about  as  hard  as  fine  writing  paper,  producing  a  similar 
crackling  if  compressed ;  twelve  hours  later  the  shell  is 
sufficiently  stiffened  to  require  some  slight  force  to  bend 
it,  and  the  crab  is  said  to  be  in  buckram,  as  in  the  first 
stage  it  was  in  paper.  It  is  still  helpless,  and  offers  no 
resistance;  but  at  the  end  of  thirty-six  hours,  it  shows 
that  its  natural  instincts  are  In  action,  and  by  the  time 
forty-eight  hours  have  elapsed,  the  crab  is  restored  to  the 
exercise  of  all  his  functions.  I  have  stated  the  above  as 
the  periods  in  which  the  stages  of  the  moult  are  accom- 
plished, but  I  have  often  observed  that  the  rapidity  of  this 
process  is  very  much  dependent  upon  the  temperature, 
and  especially  upon  sunshine.  A  cold,  cloudy,  raw,  and 
disagreeable  spell  happening  at  this  period,  though  by  no 
means  common,  will  retard  the  operation  considerably, 
protracting  the  period  of  helplessness.  This  is  the  har- 
vest season  of  the  white  fisherman  and  of  the  poor  slave. 
The  laziest  of  the  former  are  now  in  full  activity,  wading 
along  the  shore  from  morning  till  night,  dragging  a  small 
boat  after  them,  and  holding  in  the  other  hand  a  forked 
stick  with  which  they  raise  the  crabs  from  the  sand.  The 
period  during  which  the  crabs  remain  in  the  paper  state 


76  RAMBLES  OF 

is  so  short,  that  great  activity  is  required  to  gather  a 
sufficient  number  to  take  to  market,  but  the  price  at 
which  they  are  sold  is  sufficient  to  awaken  all  the  cupidity 
of  the  crabbers.  Two  dollars  a  dozen  is  by  no  means  an 
uncommon  price  for  them,  when  the  season  first  comes 
on;  they  subsequently  come  down  to  a  dollar,  and  even 
to  fifty  cents,  at  any  of  which  rates  the  trouble  of  col 
lecting  them  is  well  paid.  The  slaves  search  for  them  at 
night,  and  then  are  obliged  to  kindle  a  fire  of  pine-knots 
on  the  bow  of  the  boat,  which  strongly  illuminates  the 
surrounding  water,  and  enables  them  to  discover  the 
crabs.  Soft  crabs  are,  with  great  propriety,  regarded  as 
an  exquisite  treat  by  those  who  are  fond  of  such  eating ; 
and  though  many  persons  are  unable  to  use  crabs  or  lob- 
sters  in  any  form,  there  are  few  who  taste  of  the  soft 
crabs  without  being  willing  to  recur  to  them.  As  an  ar- 
ticle of  luxury  they  are  scarcely  known  north  of  the 
Chesapeake,  though  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  them  from 
being  used  to  considerable  extent  in  Philadelphia,  espe- 
cially since  the  opening  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware 
canal.  The  summer  of  1829  I  had  the  finest  soft  crabs 
from  Baltimore.  They  arrived  at  the  market  in  the  after- 
noon, were  fried  according  to  rule,  and  placed  in  a  tin 
butter  kettle,  then  covered  for  an  inch  or  two  with  melt- 
ed lard,  and  put  on  board  the  steam  boat  which  left  Bal- 
timore at  five  o'clock  the  same  afternoon.  The  next  morn- 
ing before  ten  o'clock  they  were  in  Philadelphia,  and  at 
one  they  were  served  up  at  dinner  in  Germantown.  The 


A  NATURALIST.  77 

only  difficulty  in  the  way  is  that  of  having  persons  to  at- 
tend to  their  procuring  and  transmission,  as  when  cooked 
directly  after  they  arrive  at  market,  and  forwarded  with 
as  little  delay  as  above  mentioned,  there  is  no  danger  of 
their  being  the  least  injured. 

At  other  seasons,  when  the  crabs  did  not  come  close 
to  the  shore,  I  derived  much  amusement  by  taking  them 
in  the  deep  water.  This  is  always  easily  effected  by  the 
aid  of  proper  bait ;  a  leg  of  chicken,  piece  of  any  raw 
meat,  or  a  salted  or  spoiled  herring,  tied  to  a  twine  string 
of  sufficient  length,  and  a  hand  net  of  convenient  size, 
is  all  that  is  necessary.  You  throw  out  your  line  and 
bait,  or  you  fix  as  many  lines  to  your  boat  as  you  please, 
and  in  a  short  time  you  see,  by  the  straightening  of  the 
line,  that  the  bait  has  been  seized  by  a  crab,  who  is  try- 
ing to  make  off  with  it.  You  then  place  your  net  where 
it  can  conveniently  be  picked  up,  and  commence  steadily 
but  gently  to  draw  hi  your  line,  until  you  have  brought 
the  crab  sufficiently  near  the  surface  to  distinguish  him ; 
if  you  draw  him  nearer,  he  will  see  you  and  immediately 
let  go,  otherwise  his  greediness  and  voracity  will  make 
him  cling  to  his  prey  to  the  last.  Holding  the  line  in  the 
left  hand,  you  now  dip  your  net  edge  foremost  into  the 
water  at  some  distance  from  the  line,  carry  it  down  per- 
pendicularly until  it  is  five  or  six  niches  lower  than  the 
crab,  and  then  with  a  sudden  turn  out  bring  it  directly 
before  him,  and  lift  up  at  the  same  time.  Your  prize  is 
generally  secured,  if  your  net  be  at  all  properly  placed ; 
7* 


78  RAMBLES  OF 

for  as  soon  as  he  is  alarmed,  he  pushes  directly  down- 
wards, and  is  received  in  the  bag  of  the  net.  It  is  better 
to  have  a  little  water  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  to  throw 
them  into,  as  they  are  easier  emptied  out  of  the  net,  al- 
ways letting  go  when  held  over  the  water.  This  a  good 
crabber  never  forgets,  and  should  he  unluckily  be  seized 
by  a  large  crab,  he  holds  him  over  the  water  and  is  freed 
at  once,  though  he  loses  his  game.  When  not  held  over 
the  water,  they  bite  sometimes  with  dreadful  obstinacy, 
and  I  have  seen  it  necessary  to  crush  the  forceps  or 
claws  before  one  could  be  induced  to  let  go  the  fingers  of 
a  boy.  A  poor  black  fellow  also  placed  himself  in  an 
awkward  situation ;  the  crab  seized  him  by  a  finger  of 
his  right  hand,  but  he  was  unwilling  to  lose  his  captive 
by  holding  him  over  the  water,  instead  of  which  he  at- 
tempted to  secure  the  other  claw  with  his  left  hand,  while 
he  tried  to  crush  the  biting  claw  between  his  teeth.  In 
doing  this,  he  somehow  relaxed  his  left  hand,  and  with 
the  other  claw,  the  crab  seized  poor  Jem  by  his  under 
lip,  which  was  by  no  means  a  thin  one,  and  forced  him 
to  roar  with  pain.  With  some  difficulty  he  was  freed 
from  his  tormentor*  but  it  was  several  days  before  he 
ceased  to  excite  laughter,  as  the  severe  bite  was  followed 
by  a  swelling  of  the  lip,  which  imparted  a  most  ludicrous 
expression  to  a  naturally  comical  countenance. 


A  NATUBALIST.  79 


NO.  VII. 

On  the  first  arrival  of  the  crabs,  when  they  throng  the 
shoals  of  the  creeks  in  vast  crowds,  as  heretofore  men- 
tioned, a  very  summary  way  of  taking  them  is  resorted 
to  by  the  country  people,  and  for  a  purpose  that  few  would 
suspect  without  having  witnessed  it.  They  use  a  three 
pronged  fork  or  gig  made  for  this  sport,  attached  to  a 
long  handle  ;  the  crabber  standing  up  in  the  skiff,  pushes 
it  along  until  he  is  over  a  large  collection  of  crabs,  and 
then  strikes  his  spear  among  them.  By  this  several  are 
transfixed  at  once  and  lifted  into  the  boat,  and  the  opera- 
tion is  repeated  until  enough  have  been  taken.  The  pur- 
pose to  which  they  are  to  be  applied  is  to  feed  the  hogs, 
which  very  soon  learn  to  collect  in  waiting  upon  the 
beach  when  the  crab  spearing  is  going  on.  Although 
these  bristly  gentry  appear  to  devour  almost  all  sorts  of 
food  with  great  relish,  it  seemed  to  me  that  they  regard- 
ed the  crabs  as  a  most  luxurious  banquet ;  and  it  was 
truly  amusing  to  see  the  grunters,  when  the  crabs  were 
.  thrown  on  shore  for  them,  and  were  scampering  off  in 
various  directions,  seizing  them  in  spite  of  their  threat- 
ening claws,  holding  them  down  with  one  foot,  and 


80  RAMBLES  OF 

speedily  reducing  them  to  a  state  of  helplessness  by  break- 
ing  off  their  forceps.  Such  a  crunching  and  cracking  of 
the  unfortunate  crabs  I  never  have  witnessed  since ;  and 
I  might  have  commiserated  them  more,  had  not  I  known 
that  death  in  some  form  or  other  was  continually  await- 
ing  them,  and  that  their  devourers  were  all  destined  to 
meet  their  fate  in  a  few  months  in  the  sty,  and  thence 
through  the  smoke  house  to  be  placed  upon  our  table. 
On  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  I  have  caught  crabs  in 
a  way  commonly  employed  by  all  those  who  are  unpro- 
vided with  boats  and  nets.  This  is  to  have  a  forked  stick 
and  a  baited  line,  with  which  the  crabber  wades  out  as 
far  as  he  .thinks  fit,  and  then  throws  out  his  line.  As 
soon  as  he  finds  he  has  a  bite,  he  draws  the  line  in,  cau- 
tiously lifting  but  a  very  little  from  the  bottom.  As  soon 
as  it  is  near  enough  to  be  fairly  in  reach,  he  quickly,  yet 
with  as  little  movement  as  possible,  secures  the  crab  by 
placing  the  forked  stick  across  his  body  and  pressing  him 
against  the  sand.  He  must  then  stoop  down  and  take 
hold  of  the  crab  by  the  two  posterior  swimming  legs,  so 
as  to  avoid  being  seized  by  the  claws.  Should  he  not 
wish  to  carry  each  crab  ashore  as  he  catches  it,  he  pin- 
ions or  spansels  (as  the  fishermen  call  it)  them.  This  is 
a  very  effectual  mode  of  disabling  them  from  using  their 
biting  claws,  yet  it  is  certainly  not  the  most  humane 
operation ;  it  is  done  by  taking  the  first  of  the  sharp- 
pointed  feet  of  each  side,  and  forcing  it  in  for  the  length 
of  the  joint  behind  the  moveable  joint  or  thumb  of  the 


A  NATURALIST.  81 

opposite  biting  claw.  The  crabs  are  then  strung  upon  a 
string  or  wythe,  and  allowed  to  hang  in  the  water  until 
the  crabber  desists  from  his  occupations.  In  the  previous 
article  crabs  were  spoken  of  as  curious  and  interesting, 
and  the  reader  may  not  consider  the  particulars  thus  far 
given  as  being  particularly  so.  Perhaps,  when  he  takes 
them  altogether,  he  will  agree  that  they  have  as  much 
that  is  curious  about  their  construction  as  almost  any 
animal  we  have  mentioned,  and  in  the  interesting  details 
we  have  as  yet  made  but  a  single  step. 

The  circumstance  of  the  external  skeleton  has  been 
mentioned,  but  who  would  expect  an  animal,  as  low  in 
the  scale  as  a  crab,  to  be  furnished  with  ten  or  twelve 
pair  of  jaws  to  its  mouth  ?  Yet  such  is  the  fact,  and  all 
these  variously  constructed  pieces  are  provided  with  ap- 
propriate muscles,  and  move  in  a  manner  which  can 
scarcely  be.  explained,  though  it  may  be  very  readily 
comprehended  when  once  observed  in  living  nature.  But, 
after  all  the  complexity  of  the  jaws,  where  would  an  in- 
experienced person  look  for  their  teeth?  surely  not  in  the 
stomach  ?  Nevertheless,  such  is  their  situation ;  and  these 
are  not  mere  appendages,  that  are  called  teeth  by  courte- 
sy, but  stout  regular  grinding  teeth,  with  a  light  brown 
surface.  They  are  not  only  within  the  stomach,  but  fixed 
to  a  cartilage  nearest  to  its  lower  extremity,  so  that  the 
food,  unlike  that  of  other  creatures,  is  submitted  to  the 
action  of  the  teeth  as  it  is  passing /rom  the  stomach;  in- 
stead of  being  chewed  before  it  is  swallowed.  In  some 


82  RAMBLES  OF 

species  the  teeth  are  five  in  number ;  but  throughout  this 
class  of  animals  the  same  general  principle  of  construc- 
tion may  be  observed.    Crabs  and  their  kindred  have  no 
brain,  because  they  are  not  required  to  reason  upon  what 
they  observe ;  they  have  a  nervous  system  excellently 
suited  to  their  mode  of  life,  and  its  knots  or  ganglia  send 
out  nerves  to  the  organs  of  sense,  digestion,  motion,  &c. 
The  senses  of  these  beings  are  very  acute,  especially  their 
sight,  hearing  and  smell.     Most  of  my  readers  have  heard 
of  crabs'  eyes,  or  have  seen  these  organs  in  the  animal 
on  the  end  of  two  little  projecting  knobs,  above  and  on 
each  side  of  the  mouth ;  few  of  them,  however,  have  seen 
the  crab's  ear,  yet  it  is  very  easily  found,  and  is  a  little 
triangular  bump  placed  near  the  base  of  the  feelers.  This 
bump  has  a  membrane  stretched  over  it,  and  communi- 
cates with  a  small  cavity,  which  is  the  internal  ear.     The 
organ  of  smell  is  not  so  easily  demonstrated  as  that  of 
hearing,  though  the  evidence  of  their  possessing  the  sense 
to  an  acute  degree  is  readily  attainable.    A  German  na- 
turalist inferred,  from  the  fact  of  the  nerve  corresponding 
to  the  olfactory  nerve  in  man  being  distributed  to  the  an- 
tenna?, in  insects,  that  the  antennae  were  the  organs  of 
smell  in  them.     Cuvier  and  others  suggest  that  a  similar 
arrangement  may  exist  in  the  Crustacea.     To  satisfy  my- 
self whether  it  was  so  or  not,  I  lately  dissected  a  small 
lobster,  and  was  delighted  to  find  that  the  first  pair  of 
nerves  actually  went  to  the  antennee,  and  gave  positive 
support  to  the  opinion  mentioned.    I  state  this,  not  to 


A  NATURALIST.  83 

claim  credit  for  ascertaining  the  truth  or  inaccuracies  of 
a  suggestion,  but  with  a  view  of  inviting  the  reader  to  do 
the  same  in  all  cases  of  doubt.  Where  it  is  possible  to 
refer  to  nature  for  the  actual  condition  of  facts,  learned 
authorities  give  me  no  uneasiness.  If  I  find  that  the 
structure  bears  out  their  opinions,  it  is  more  satisfactory ; 
when  it  convicts  them  of  absurdity,  it  saves  much  fruit, 
less  reading,  as  well  as  the  trouble  of  shaking  off  preju- 
dices. 

The  first  time  my  attention  was  called  to  the  extreme 
acuteness  of  sight  possessed  by  these  animals,  was  during 
a  walk  along  the  flats  of  Long  Island,  reaching  to- 
wards Governor's  Island  in  New  York.  A  vast  number 
of  the  small  land  crabs,  called  fiddlers  by  the  boys  (gecar- 
cinus,)  occupy  burrows  or  caves  dug  in  the  marshy  soil, 
whence  they  come  out  and  go  for  some  distance,  either 
in  search  of  food  or  to  sun  themselves.  Long  before  I 
approached  close  enough  to  see  their  forms  with  distinct- 
ness, they  were  scampering  towards  their  holes,  into 
which  they  plunged  with  a  tolerable  certainty  of  escape; 
these  retreats  being  of  considerable  depth,  and  often  com- 
municating with  each  other,  as  well  as  nearly  filled  with 
water.  On  endeavouring  cautiously  to  approach  some 
others,  it  was  quite  amusing  to  observe  their  vigilance ; 
to  see  them  slowly  change  position,  and  from  lying  ex- 
tended in  the  sun,  beginning  to  gather  themselves  up  for 
a  start  should  it  prove  necessary ;  at  length  standing  up 
as  it  were  on  tiptoe,  and  raising  their  pedunculated  eyes 


84  RAMBLES  OF 

as  high  as  possible.  One  quick  step  on  the  part  of  the 
individual  approaching-  was  enough — away  they  would 
go,  with  a  celerity  which  must  appear  surprising  to  any 
one  who  had  not  previously  witnessed  it.  What  is  more 
remarkable,  they  possess  the  power  of  moving  equally 
well  with  any  part  of  the  body  foremost,  so  that  when 
endeavouring  to  escape,  they  will  suddenly  dart  off  to 
one  side  or  the  other,  without  turning  round,  and  thus 
elude  pursuit.  My  observations  upon  the  crustaceous 
animals  have  extended  through  many  years,  and  in  very 
various  situations  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  making  the  gene- 
ral view  of  their  qualities  more  satisfactory,  I  will  go  on 
to  state  what  I  remarked  of  some  of  the  genera  and  spe- 
cies in  the  West  Indies,  where  they  are  exceedingly  nu- 
merous and  various.  The  greater  proportion  of  the  genera 
feed  on  animal  matter,  especially  after  decomposition  has 
begun ;  a  large  number  are  exclusively  confined  to  the 
deep  waters,  and  approach  the  shoals  and  lands  only  during 
the  spawning  season.  Many  live  in  the  sea,  but  daily 
pass  many  hours  upon  the  rocky  shores  for  the  pleasure 
of  basking  in  the  sun;  others  live  in  marshy  or  moist 
ground,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  water,  and 
feed  principally  on  vegetable  food,  especially  the  sugar 
cane,  of  which  they  are  extremely  destructive.  Others 
again  reside  habitually  on  the  hills  or  mountains,  and 
visit  the  sea  only  once  a  year  for  the  purpose  of  depositing 
their  eggs  in  the  sand.  All  those  which  reside  in  bur- 
rows made  in  moist  ground,  and  those  coming  daily  on 


A  NATURALIST.  85 

the  rocks  to  bask  in  the  sun,  participate  in  about  an  equal 
degree  in  the  qualities  of  vigilance  and  swiftness.  Many 
a  breathless  race  have  I  run  in  vain,  attempting  to  inter- 
cept  them,  and  prevent  their  escaping  into  the  sea.  Many 
an  hour  of  cautious  and  solicitous  endeavour  to  steal  upon 
them  unobserved,  has  been  frustrated  by  their  long  sight- 
ed watchfulness ;  and  several  times,  when,  by  extreme 
care  and  cunning  approaches,  I  have  actually  succeeded 
in  getting  between  a  fine  specimen  and  the  sea,  and  had 
full  hope  of  driving  him  farther  inland,  have  all  my  an- 
ticipations been  ruined  by  the  wonderful  swiftness  of 
their  flight,  or  the  surprising  facility  with  which  they 
would  dart  off  in  the  very  opposite  direction,  at  the  very 
moment  I  felt  almost  sure  of  my  prize.  One  day,  in  par- 
ticular, I  saw  on  a  flat  rock,  which  afforded  a  fine  sunning 
place,  the  most  beautiful  crab  I  had  ever  beheld.  It  was 
of  the  largest  size,  and  would  have  covered  a  large  din- 
ner plate,  most  beautifully  coloured  with  bright  crimson 
below,  and  a  variety  of  tints  of  blue,  purple,  and  green 
above;  it  was  just  such  a  specimen  as  could  not  fail  to 
excite  all  the  solicitude  of  a  collector  to  obtain.  But,  it 
was  not  in  the  least  deficient  in  the  art  of  self-preserva- 
tion ;  my  most  careful  manoeuvres  proved  ineffectual,  and 
all  my  efforts  only  enabled  me  to  see  enough  of  it  to 
augment  my  regrets  to  a  high  degree.  Subsequently  I 
saw  a  similar  individual  in  the  collection  of  a  resident ; 
this  had  been  killed  against  the  rocks  during  a  violent 
hurricane,  with  very  slight  injury  to  its  shell.  I  offered 
8 


86  RAMBLES  OF 

high  rewards  to  the  black  people  if  they  would  bring  me 
such  a  one,  but  the  most  expert  among  them  seemed  to 
think  it  an  unpromising  search,  as  they  knew  of  no  way 
of  capturing  them.  If  I  had  been  supplied  with  some 
powder  of  nux  vomica  with  which  to  poison  some  meat, 
I  might  have  succeeded. 


A   XATURALISJ  87 


NO.  VIII. 


The  fleet  running  crab  (cypoda  pugilator,)  mentioned 
as  living  in  burrows  dug  in  a  moist  soil,  and  preying 
chiefly  on  the  sugar  cane,  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  noxious  pests  that  can  infest  a  plantation.  Their 
burrows  extend  to  a  great  depth,  and  run  in  various  di- 
rections ;  they  are  also,  like  those  of  our  fiddlers,  nearly 
full  of  muddy  water,  so  that,  when  these  marauders  once 
plump  into  their  dens,  they  may  be  considered  as  entirely 
beyond  pursuit.  Their  numbers  are  so  great,  and  they 
multiply  in  such  numbers,  as  in  some  seasons  to  destroy 
a  large  proportion  of  a  sugar  crop,  and  sometimes  their 
ravages,  combined  with  those  of  the  rats  and  other  plun- 
derers, are  absolutely  ruinous  to  the  sea-side  planters.  I 
was  shown,  by  the  superintendent  of  a  place  thus  infest- 
ed, a  great  quantity  of  cane  utterly  killed  by  these  crea- 
tures, which  cut  it  off  hi  a  peculiar  manner,  in  order  to 
suck  the  juice ;  and  he  assured  me  that,  during  that  sea- 
son, the  crop  would  be  two  thirds  less  than  its  average, 
solely  owing  to  the  inroads  of  the  crabs,  and  rats,  which 
if  possible  are  still  more  numerous.  It  was  to  me  an  ir- 


RAMBLES  OF 

resistible  source  of  amusement  to  observe  the  air  of  spite 
and  vexation  with  which  he  spoke  of  the  crabs  ;  the  rats 
he  could  shoot,  poison,  or  drive  off  for  a  time  with  dogs. 
But  the  crabs  would  not  eat  his  poison,  while  sugar  cane 
was  growing  ;  the  dogs  could  only  chase  them  into  their 
holes ;  and  if,  in  helpless  irritation,  he  sometimes  fired 
his  gun  at  a  cluster  of  them,  the  shot  only  rattled  over 
their  shells  like  hail  against  a  window.  It  is  truly  desira- 
ble that  some  summary  mode  of  lessening  their  number 
could  be  devised,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  will  be  best 
effected  by  poison,  as  it  may  be  possible  to  obtain  a  bait 
sufficiently  attractive  to  ensnare  them.  Species  of  this 
genus  are  found  in  various  parts  of  our  country,  more 
especially  towards  the  south.  About  Cape  May,  our 
friends  may  have  excellent  opportunities  of  testing  the 
truth  of  what  is  said  of  their  swiftness  and  vigilance. 

The  land  crab,  which  is  common  to  many  of  the  West 
India  islands,  is  more  generally  known  as  the  Jamaica 
crab,  because  it  has  been  most  frequently  described  from 
observation  in  that  island.  Wherever  found,  they  all  have 
the  habit  of  living,  during  great  part  of  the  year,  in 
the  highlands,  where  they  pass  the  day  time,  concealed 
in  huts,  cavities,  and  under  stones,  and  come  out  at  night 
for  their  food.  They  are  remarkable  for  collecting  in 
vast  bodies,  and  marching  annually  to  the  sea  side,  in 
order  to  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  sand ;  and  this  accom- 
plished, they  return  to  their  former  abodes,  if  undisturbed. 
They  commence  their  march  in  the  night,  and  move  in 


A  NATURALIST.  89 

the  most  direct  line  towards  the  destined  point.  So  ob- 
stinately do  they  pursue  this  route,  that  they  will  not  turn 
out  of  it  for  any  obstacle  that  can  possibly  be  surmounted. 
During  the  day  time  they  skulk  and  He  hid  as  closely  as 
possible,  but  thousands  upon  thousands  of  them  are  taken 
for  the  use  of  the  table  by  whites  and  blacks,  as  on  their 
seaward  march  they  are  very  fat  and  of  fine  flavour.  On 
the  homeward  journey,  those  that  have  escaped  capture 
are  weak,  exhausted,  and  unfit  for  use.  Before  dismiss- 
ing the  crabs,  I  must  mention  one  which  was  a  source  of 
much  annoyance  to  me  at  first,  and  of  considerable  interest 
afterwards,  from  the  observation  of  its  habits.  At  that 
time  I  resided  in  a  house  delightfully  situated  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  sea,  fronting  the  setting  sun, 
having  in  clear  weather  the  lofty  mountains  of  Porto 
Rico,  distant  about  eighty  miles,  in  view.  Like  most  of 
the  houses  in  the  island,  ours  had  seen  better  days,  as 
was  evident  from  various  breaks  in  the  floors,  angles 
rotted  off  the  doors,  sunken  sills,  and  other  indications  of 
decay.  Our  sleeping  room,  which  was  on  the  lower  floor, 
was  especially  in  this  condition ;  but  as  the  weather  was 
delightfully  warm,  a  few  cracks  and  openings,  though 
rather  large,  did  not  threaten  much  inconvenience.  Our 
bed  was  provided  with  that  indispensable  accompaniment, 
a  musquito  bar  or  curtain,  to  which  we  were  indebted  for 
escape  from  various  annoyances.  Scarcely  had  we  ex- 
tinguished  the  light,  and  composed  ourselres  to  rest,  than 
we  heard,  in  various  parts  of  the  room,  the  most  startling 
8* 


90  RAMBLES  OF 

noises.  It  appeared  as  if  numerous  hard  and  heavy  bo- 
dies were  trailed  along  the  floor ;  then  they  sounded  as 
if  climbing-  up  by  the  chairs  and  other  furniture,  and  fre- 
quently something  like  a  large  stone  would  tumble  down 
from  such  elevations  with  a  loud  noise,  followed  by  a  pe- 
culiar chirping  note.  What  an  effect  this  produced  upon 
entirely  inexperienced  strangers,  may  well  be  imagined 
by  those  who  have  been  suddenly  waked  up  in  the  dark, 
by  some  unaccountable  noise  in  the  room.  Finally,  these 
invaders  began  to  ascend  the  bed;  but  happily  the  mus- 
quito  bar  was  securely  tucked  under  the  bed  all  around, 
and  they  were  denied  access,  though  their  efforts  and 
tumbles  to  the  floor  produced  no  very  comfortable  reflec- 
tions. Towards  daylight  they  began  to  retire,  and  in 
the  morning  no  trace  of  any  such  visitants  could  be  per- 
ceived. On  mentioning  our  troubles,  we  were  told  that 
this  nocturnal  disturber  was  only  Bernard  the  Hermit, 
called  generally  the  soldier  crab,  perhaps  from  the  pecu- 
liar habit  he  has  of  protecting  his  body  by  thrusting  it 
into  an  empty  shell,  which  he  afterwards  carries  about, 
until  he  outgrows  it,  when  it  is  relinquished  for  a  larger. 
Not  choosing  to  pass  another  night  quite  so  noisily,  due 
care  was  taken  to  exclude  Monsieur  Bernard,  whose 
knockings  were  thenceforward  confined  to  the  outside  of 
the  house.  I  baited  a  large  wire  rat  trap  with  some  corn 
meal,  and  placed  it  outside  of  the  back  door,  and  in  the 
morning,  found  it  literally  half  filled  with  these  crabs, 
from  the  largest  sized  shell  that  could  enter  the  trap, 


A  NATURALIST.  91 

down  to  such  as  were  not  larger  than  a  hickory  nut. 
Here  was  a  fine  collection  made  at  once,  affording  a  very 
considerable  variety  in  the  size  and  age  of  the  specimens, 
and  the  different  shells  into  which  they  had  introduced 
themselves. 

The  soldier,  or  hermit  crab,  when  withdrawn  from  his 
adopted  shell,  presents  about  the  head  and  claws  a  con- 
siderable family  resemblance  to  the  lobster.  The  claws, 
however,  are  very  short  and  broad,  and  the  body  covered 
with  hard  shell  only  in  that  part  which  is  liable  to  be 
exposed  or  protruded.  The  posterior  or  abdominal  part 
of  the  body,  is  covered  only  by  a  tough  skin,  and  tapers 
towards  a  small  extremity,  furnished  with  a  sort  of  hook- 
like  apparatus,  enabling  it  to  hold  on  to  its  factitious 
dwelling.  Along  the  surface  of  its  abdomen,  as  well  as 
on  the  back,  there  are  small  projections,  apparently  in- 
tended for  the  same  purpose.  When  once  fairly  in  pos- 
session of  a  shell,  it  would  be  quite  a  difficult  matter  to 
pull  the  crab  out,  though  a  very  little  heat  applied  to  the 
shell  will  quickly  induce  him  to  leave  it.  The  shells  they 
select  are  taken  solely  with  reference  to  their  suitable- 
ness, and  hence  you  may  catch  a  considerable  number  of 
the  same  species,  each  of  which  is  in  a  different  species 
or  genus  of  shell.  The  shells  commonly  used  by  them, 
when  of  larger  size,  are  those  of  the  whilk,  which  are 
much  used  as  an  article  of  food  by  the  islanders,  or  the 
smaller  conch  [strombus]  shells.  The  very  young  her- 
mit crabs  are  seen  in  almost  every  variety  of  small  shell 


92  RAMBLES  OF 

found  on  the  shores  of  the  Antilles.  I  have  frequently  been 
amused  by  seeing  ladies,  eagerly  engaged  in  making  a  col- 
lection of  these  beautiful  little  shells,  and  not  dreaming 
of  their  being  tenanted  by  a  living  animal,  suddenly 
startled,  on  displaying  their  acquisitions,  at  observing 
them  to  be  actively  endeavouring  to  escape  ;  or  on  intro- 
ducing the  hand  into  the  reticule  to  produce  a  particular 
fine  specimen,  to  receive  a  smart  pinch  from  the  claws  of 
the  little  hermit.  The  instant  the  shell  is  closely  ap. 
proached  or  touched,  they  withdraw  as  deeply  into  the 
shell  as  possible,  and  the  small  ones  readily  escape  obser- 
vation, but  they  soon  become  impatient  of  captivity,  and 
try  to  make  off.  The  species  of  this  genus  (pagurus)  are 
very  numerous,  and  during  the  first  part  of  their  lives 
are  all  aquatic.  That  is,  they  are  hatched  in  the  little 
pools  about  the  margin  of  the  sea,  and  remain  there  until 
those  that  are  destined  to  live  on  land  are  stout  enough 
to  commence  their  travels.  The  hermit  crabs  which  are 
altogether  aquatic  are  by  no  means  so  careful  to  choose 
the  lightest  and  thinnest  shells,  as  the  land  troops.  The 
aquatic  soldiers  may  be  seen  towing  along  shells  of  most 
disproportionate  size  ;  but  their  relatives,  who  travel  over 
the  hills  by  moonlight,  know  that  all  unnecessary  incum- 
brance  of  weight  should  be  avoided.  They  are  as  pug- 
nacious and  spiteful  as  any  of  the  crustaceous  class ;  and 
when  taken,  or  when  they  fall  and  jar  themselves,  con- 
siderably, utter  a  chirping  noise,  which  is  evidently  an 
angry  expression.  They  are  ever  ready  to  bite  with  their 


A  NATURALIST.  93 

claws,  and  the  pinch  of  the  larger  individuals  is  quite 
painful.  It  is  said,  that  when  they  are  changing  their 
shells,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  more  commodious  cover- 
ings, they  frequently  fight  for  possession,  which  may  be 
true  where  two  that  have  forsaken  their  old  shells  meet, 
or  happen  to  make  choice  of  the  same  vacant  one.  It  is 
also  said,  that  one  crab  is  sometimes  forced  to  give  up 
the  shell  he  is  in,  should  a  stronger  chance  to  desire  it. 
This,  as  I  never  saw  it,  I  must  continue  to  doubt;  for  I 
cannot  imagine  how  the  stronger  could  possibly  accom- 
plish his  purpose,  seeing  that  the  occupant  has  nothing 
to  do  but  keep  close  quarters.  The  invader  would  have 
no  chance  of  seizing  him  to  pull  him  out,  nor  could  he 
do  him  any  injury  by  biting  upon  the  surface  of  his  hard 
claws,  the  only  part  that  would  be  exposed.  If  it  be  true 
that  one  can  dispossess  the  other,  it  must  be  by  some 
contrivance  of  which  we  are  still  ignorant.  These  sol- 
dier crabs  feed  on  a  great  variety  of  substances,  scarcely 
refusing  any  thing  that  is  edible ;  like  the  family  they 
belong  to,  they  have  a  decided  partiality  for  putrid  meats, 
and  the  planters  accuse  them  also  of  too  great  a  fondness 
for  the  sugar  cane.  Their  excursions  are  altogether  noc- 
turnal, in  the  day  time  they  He  concealed  very  effectually 
in  small  holes,  among  stones,  or  any  kind  of  rubbish,  and 
are  rarely  taken  notice  of,  even  where  hundreds  are  within 
a  short  distance  of  each  other.  The  larger  soldier  crabs 
are  sometimes  eaten  by  the  blacks,  but  they  are  not  much 
sought  after  even  by  them,  as  they  are  generally  regard- 


94  RAMBLES  OF 

ed  with  aversion  and  prejudice.  There  is  no  reason,  that 
we  are  aware  of,  why  they  should  not  be  as  good  as 
many  other  crabs,  but  they  certainly  are  not  equally  es- 
teemed. 


A  NATURALIST.  95 


NO.  IX. 

Those  who  have  only  lived  in  forest  countries,  where 
vast  tracts  are  shaded  by  a  dense  growth  of  oak,  ash, 
chestnut,  hickory  and  other  trees  of  deciduous  foliage, 
which  present  the  most  pleasing  varieties  of  verdure  and 
freshness,  can  have  but  little  idea  of  the  effect  produced 
on  the  feelings  by  aged  forests  of  pine,  composed  in  great 
degree  of  a  single  species,  whose  towering  summits  are 
crowned  with  one  dark  green  canopy,  which  successive 
seasons  find  unchanged,  and  nothing  but  death  causes 
to  vary.  Their  robust  and  gigantic  trunks  rise  an  hun- 
dred or  more  feet  high  in  purely  proportioned  columns, 
before  the  limbs  begin  to  diverge;  and  their  tops,  densely 
clothed  with  long  bristling  foliage,  intermingle  so  closely 
as  to  allow  of  but  slight  entrance  to  the  sun.  Hence  the 
undergrowth  of  such  forests  is  comparatively  slight  and 
thin,  since  none  but  shrubs  and  plants  that  love  the  shade, 
can  flourish  under  this  perpetual  exclusion  of  the  animat- 
ing and  invigorating  rays  of  the  great  exciter  of  the 
vegetable  world.  Through  such  forests,  and  by  the 
merest  foot  paths  in  great  part,  it  was  my  lot  to  pass 
many  miles  almost  every  day ;  and  had  I  not  endeavoured 


96  RAMBLES  OF 

to  derive  some  amusement  and  instruction  from  the  study 
of  the  forest  itself,  my  time  would  have  been  as  fatiguing 
to  me,  as  it  was  certainly  quiet  and  solemn.  But  wher- 
ever nature  is,  and  under  whatever  form  she  may  present 
herself,  enough  is  always  proffered  to  fix  attention  and 
produce  pleasure,  if  we  will  condescend  to  observe  with 
carefulness.  I  soon  found  that  even  a  pine  forest  was  far 
from  being  devoid  of  interest,  and  shall  endeavour  to 
prove  this  by  stating  the  result  of  various  observations 
made  during  the  time  I  lived  in  this  situation. 

The  common  pitch,  or  as  it  is  generally  called  Norway 
pine,  grows  from  a  seed,  which  is  matured  in  vast  abun- 
dance in  the  large  cones  peculiar  to  the  pines.  This  seed 
is  of  a  rather  triangular  shape,  thick  and  heavy  at  the 
part  by  which  it  grows  from  the  cone,  and  terminating 
in  a  broad  membranous  fan  or  sail,  which,  when  the  seeds 
are  shaken  out  by  the  wind,  enables  them  to  sail  obliquely 
through  the  air  to  great  distances.  Should  an  old  corn- 
field or  other  piece  of  ground  be  thrown  out  of  cultivation 
for  more  than  one  season,  it  is  sown  with  the  pine  seeds 
by  the  winds,  and  the  young  pines  shoot  up  as  closely 
and  compactly  as  hemp.  They  continue  to  grow  in  this 
manner  until  they  become  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high, 
until  their  roots  begin  to  encroach  on  each  other,  or  until 
the  stoutest  and  best  rooted  begin  to  overtop  so  as  entirely 
to  shade  the  smaller.  These  gradually  begin  to  fail,  and 
finally  dry  up  and  perish,  and  a  similar  process  is  con- 
tinued until  the  best  trees  acquire  room  enough  to  grow 


A  NATURALIST.  97 

without  impediment.  Even  when  the  young  pines  have 
attained  to  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  height,  and  are  as  thick 
as  a  man's  thigh,  they  stand  so  closely  together,  that  their 
lower  branches,  which  are  all  dry  and  dead,  are  inter- 
mingled, sufficiently  to  prevent  any  one  from  passing 
between  the  trees  without  first  breaking  these  obstruc- 
tions away.  I  have  seen  such  a  wood  as  that  just  men- 
tioned, covering  an  old  corn-field,  whose  ridges  were  still 
distinctly  to  be  traced,  and  which  an  old  resident  informed 
me  he  had  seen  growing  in  corn.  In  a  part  of  this  wood 
which  was  not  far  from  my  dwelling,  I  had  a  delightful 
retreat,  that  served  me  as  a  private  study  or  closet,  though 
enjoying  all  the  advantages  of  the  open  air.  A  road 
that  had  once  passed  through  the  field,  and  was  of  course 
more  compacted  than  any  other  part,  had  denied  access 
to  the  pine  seeds  for  a  certain  distance,  while  on  each 
side  of  it  they  grew  with  their  usual  density.  The  ground 
was  covered  with  the  soft  layer  or  carpet  of  dried  pine 
leaves  which  gradually  and  imperceptibly  fall  through- 
out the  year,  making  a  most  pleasant  surface  to  tread  on, 
and  rendering  the  step  perfectly  noiseless.  By  beating 
off  with  a  stick  all  the  dried  branches  that  projected 
towards  the  vacant  space,  I  formed  a  sort  of  chamber, 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long,  which  above  was  canopied  by 
the  densely  mingled  branches  of  the  adjacent  trees,  which 
altogether  excluded  or  scattered  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
on  all  sides  was  so  shut  in  by  the  trunks  of  the  young 
9 


98  RAMBLES  OF 

trees,  as  to  prevent  all  observation.  Hither  during  the 
hot  season,  I  was  accustomed  to  retire,  for  the  purpose  of 
reading  or  meditation ;  and  within  this  deeeper  solitude, 
where  all  was  solitary,  very  many  of  the  subsequent 
movements  of  my  life  were  suggested  or  devised. 

From  all  I  could  observe,  and  all  the  enquiries  I  could 
get  answered,  it  appeared  that  this  rapidly  growing  tree 
does  not  attain  its  full  growth  until  it  is  eighty  or  ninety 
years  old,  nor  does  its  time  of  full  health  and  vigour  much 
exceed  an  hundred.  Before  this  time  it  is  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  insects,  but  these  are  of  a  kind  that  bore  the 
tender  spring  shoots  to  deposit  their  eggs  therein,  and 
their  larvae  appear  to  live  principally  on  the  sap  which  is 
very  abundant,  so  that  the  tree  is  but  slightly  injured. 
But  after  the  pine  has  attained  its  acme,  it  is  attacked 
by  an  insect  which  deposits  its  egg  in  the  body  of  the 
tree,  and  the  larva  devours  its  way  through  the  solid 
substance  of  the  timber;  so  that  after  a  pine  has  been  for 
one  or  two  seasons  subjected  to  these  depredators,  it  will 
be  fairly  riddled,  and  if  cut  down  is  unfit  for  any  other 
purpose  than  burning.  Indeed,  if  delayed  too  long,  it  is 
poorly  fit  for  firewood,  so  thoroughly  do  these  insects 
destroy  its  substance.  At  the  same  time  that  one  set  of 
insects  is  engaged  in  destroying  the  body,  myriads  of 
others  are  at  work  under  the  bark,  destroying  the  sap 
vessels,  and  the  foliage  wears  a  more  and  more  pale  and 
sickly  appearance  as  the  tree  declines  in  vigour.  If  not 
cut  down,  it  eventually  dies,  becomes  leafless,  stripped  of 


A  NATURALIST.  99 

its  bark,  and  as  the  decay  advances,  all  the  smaller 
branches  are  broken  off;  and  it  stands  with  its  naked 
trunk  and  a  few  ragged  limbs,  as  if  bidding  defiance  to 
the  tempest  which  howls  around  its  head.  Under  favour- 
able circumstances,  a  large  trunk  will  stand  in  this  con- 
dition for  nearly  a  century,  so  extensive  and  powerful 
are  its  roots,  so  firm  and  stubborn  the  original  knitting 
of  its  giant  frame.  At  length  some  storm,  more  furious 
than  all  its  predecessors,  wrenches  those  ponderous  roots 
from  the  soil,  and  hurls  the  helpless  carcass  to  the  earth, 
crushing  all  before  it  in  its  fall.  Without  the  aid  of  fire, 
or  some  peculiarity  of  situation  favourable  to  rapid  de- 
composition, full  another  hundred  years  will  be  requisite 
to  reduce  it  to  its  elements,  and  obliterate  the  traces  of 
its  existence.  Indeed,  long  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
that  period,  we  find  the  heart  of  the  pitch  pine  still  pre- 
serving its  original  form,  and  from  being  thoroughly  im- 
bued with  turpentine,  become  utterly  indestructible  ex- 
cept by  fire. 

If  fiie  proprietor  attend  to  the  warnings  afforded  by 
the  woodpecker,  he  may  always  cut  his  pines  in  time  to 
prevent  them  from  being  injured  by  insects.  The  wood- 
peckers run  up  and  around  the  trunks,  tapping  from  time 
to  time  with  their  powerful  bills.  The  bird  knows  at  once 
by  the  sound  whether  there  be  insects  below  or  not.  If 
the  tree  is  sound,  the  woodpecker  soon  forsakes  it  for 
another ;  should  he  begin  to  break  into  the  bark,  it  is  to 
catch  the  worm,  and  such  trees  are  at  once  to  be  marked 


100  RAMBLES  OF 

for  the  axe.  In  felling  such  pines,  I  found  the  woodmen 
alway  anxious  to  avoid  letting-  them  strike  against  neigh- 
bouring sound  trees,  as  they  said  that  the  insects  more 
readily  attacked  an  injured  tree  than  one  whose  bark  was 
unbroken.  The  observation  is  most  probably  correct,  at 
least  the  experience  of  country  folks  in  such  matters  is 
rarely  wrong,  though  they  sometimes  give  very  odd  rea- 
sons for  the  processes  they  adopt. 

A  full  grown  pine  forest  is  at  all  times  a  grand  and 
majestic  object  to  one  accustomed  to  moving  through  it. 
Those  vast  and  towering  columns,  sustaining  a  waving 
crown  of  deepest  verdure;  those  robust  and  rugged  limbs 
standing  forth  at  a  vast  height  overhead,  loaded  with  the 
cones  of  various  seasons ;  and  the  diminutiveness  of  all 
surrounding  objects  compared  with  these  gigantic  child- 
ren of  nature,  cannot  but  inspire  ideas  of  seriousness  and 
even  of  melancholy.  But  how  awful  and  even  tremen- 
dous does  such  a  situation  become,  when  we  hear  the 
first  wailings  of  the  gathering  storm,  as  it  stoops  upon 
the  lofly  summits  of  the  pine,  and  soon  increases  to  a 
deep  hoarse  roaring,  as  the  boughs  begin  to  wave  in  the 
blast,  and  the  whole  tree  is  forced  to  sway  before  its 
power. 

In  a  short  time  the  fury  of  the  wind  is  at  its 
height,  the  loftiest  trees  bend  suddenly  before  it,  and 
scarce  regain  their  upright  position  ere  they  are  again 
obliged  to  cower  beneath  its  violence.  Then  the  tempest 
literally  howls,  and  amid  the  tremendous  reverberations 


A  NATURALIST.  101 

of  thunder,  and  the  blazing  glare  of  the  lightning,  the 
unfortunate  wanderer  hears  around  him  the^crash  of  nu- 
merous trees  hurled  down  by  the  storm,  and  knows  not 
but  the  next  may  be  precipitated  upon  him.  More  than 
once  have  I  witnessed  all  the  grandeur,  dread,  and  deso- 
lation of  such  a  scene,  and  have  always  found  safety 
either  by  seeking  as  quickly  as  possible  a  spot  where 
there  were  none  but  young  trees,  or  if  on  the  main  road 
choosing  the  most  open  and  exposed  situation  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  large  trees.  There,  seated  on  my  horse, 
who  seemed  to  understand  the  propriety  of  such  patience, 
I  would  quietly  remain,  however  thoroughly  drenched, 
until  the  fury  of  the  wind  was  completely  over.  To 
say  nothing  of  the  danger  from  falling  trees,  the  peril 
of  being  struck  by  the  lightning,  which  so  frequently 
shivers  the  loftiest  of  them,  is  so  great  as  to  render  any 
attempt  to  advance  at  such  time  highly  imprudent. 

Like  the  ox  among  animals,  the  pine  tree  may  be 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  universally  useful  of  the 
sons  of  the  forest.  For  all  sorts  of  building,  for  firewood, 
tar,  turpentine,  rosin,  lampblack,  and  a  vast  variety  of 
other  useful  products,  this  tree  is  invaluable  to  man. 
Nor  is  it  a  pleasing  contemplation,  to  one  who  knows  it< 
usefulness,  to  observe  to  how  vast  an  amount  it  is  annu- 
ally destroyed  in  this  country,  beyond  the  proportion  that 
nature  can  possibly  supply.  However,  we  are  not  dis- 
posed to  believe  that  this  evil  will  ever  be  productive  of 


102  RAMBLES  OF 

very  great  injury,  especially  as  coal  fuel  is  becoming 
annually  more  extensively  used.  Nevertheless,  were  I 
the  owner  of  a  pine  forest,  I  should  exercise  a  consider- 
able degree  of  care  in  the  selection  of  the  wood  for  the 


A  NATURALIST.  103 


NO.  X. 

Among  the  enemies  with  which  the  farmers  of  a  poor 
or  light  soil  have  to  contend,  I  know  of  none  so  truly 
formidable  and  injurious  as  the  crows,  whose  numbers, 
cunning,  and  audacity,  can  scarcely  be  appreciated,  ex- 
cept by  those  who  have  had  long  continued  and  numer- 
ous opportunities  of  observation.  Possessed  of  the  most 
acute  senses,  and  endowed  by  nature  with  a  considerable 
share  of  reasoning  power,  these  birds  bid  defiance  to  al- 
most all  the  contrivances  resorted  to  for  their  destruc- 
tion; and  when  their  numbers  have  accumulated  to  vast 
multitudes,  which  annually  occurs,  it  is  scarcely  possible 
to  estimate  the  destruction  they  are  capable  of  effecting. 
Placed  in  a  situation  where  every  object  was  subjected 
to  close  observation,  as  a  source  of  amusement,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  my  attention  should  be  drawn  to  so  con- 
spicuous an  object  as  the  crow ;  and  having  once  com- 
menced remarking  the  peculiarities  of  this  bird,  I  con- 
tinued to  bestow  attention  upon  it  during  many  years, 
in  whatever  situation  it  was  met  with.  The  thickly 
wooded  and  well  watered  parts  of  the  state  of  Maryland, 
as  affording  them  a  great  abundance  of  food,  and  almost 


10£  RAMBLES  OF 

entire  security  during  their  breeding  season,  are  espe- 
cially infested  by  these  troublesome  creatures,  so  that  at 
some  times  of  the  year  they  are  collected  in  numbers 
which  would  appear  incredible  to  any  one  unaccustomed 
to  witness  their  accumulations. 

Individually,  the  common  crow  (corvus  corona}  may 
be  compared  in  character  with  the  brown  or  Norway  rat, 
being,  like  that  quadruped,  addicted  to  all  sorts  of  mis- 
chief,  destroying  the  lives  of  any  small  creatures  that 
may  fall  in  its  way,  plundering  with  audacity  wherever 
any  thing  is  exposed  to  its  rapaciousness,  and  triumphing 
by  its  cunning  over  the  usual  artifices  employed  for  the 
destruction  of  ordinary  noxious  animals.  Where  food  is 
at  any  time  scarce,  or  the  opportunity  for  such  marauding 
inviting,  there  is  scarcely  a  young  animal  about  the  farm 
yards  safe  from  the  attacks  of  the  crow.  Young  chickens, 
ducks,  goslings,  and  even  little  pigs,  when  quite  young 
and  feeble,  are  carried  off  by  them.  They  are  not  less 
eager  to  discover  the  nests  of  domestic  fowls,  and  will  sit 
very  quietly  in  sight,  at  a  convenient  distance,  until  the 
hen  leaves  the  nest,  and  then  fly  down  and  suck  her 
eggs  at  leisure.  But  none  of  their  tricks  excited  in  me 
a  greater  interest,  than  the  observation  of  their  attempts 
to  rob  a  hen  of  her  chicks.  The  crow,  alighting  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  hen,  would  advance  in  an  apparently 
careless  way  towards  the  brood,  when  the  vigilant  parent 
would  bristle  up  her  feathers,  and  rush  at  the  black  rogue 
to  drive  him  off.  After  several  such  approaches,  the  hen 


A  NATUBALIST.  105 

would  become  very  angry,  and  would  chase  the  crow  to 
a  greater  distance  from  the  brood.  This  is  the  very  ob- 
ject the  robber  has  in  view,  for  as  long  as  the  parent 
keeps  near  her  young,  the  crow  has  very  slight  chance 
of  success ;  but  as  soon  as  he  can  induce  her  to  follow  him 
to  a  little  distance  from  the  brood,  he  takes  advantage  of 
his  wings,  and  before  she  can  regain  her  place,  has  flown 
over  her,  and  seized  one  of  her  chickens.  When  the  cock 
is  present,  there  is  still  less  danger  from  such  an  attack, 
for  chanticleer  shows  all  his  vigilance  and  gallantry  in 
protecting  his  tender  offspring,  though  it  frequently  hap- 
pens  that  the  number  of  hens  with  broods  renders  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  extend  his  care  to  all.  When  the 
crow  tries  to  carry  off  a  gosling  from  the  mother,  it  re- 
quires more  daring  and  skill,  and  is  far  less  frequently 
successful  than  in  the  former  instance.  If  the  gander  be 
in  company,  which  he  almost  uniformly  is,  the  crow  has 
his  labour  in  vain.  Notwithstanding  the  advantages  of 
flight  and  superior  cunning,  the  honest  vigilance  and  de- 
termined bravery  of  the  former  are  too  much  for  him. 
His  attempts  to  approach,  however  cautiously  conducted, 
are  promptly  met,  and  all  his  tricks  rendered  unavailing, 
'by  the  fierce  movements  of  the  gander,  whose  powerful 
blows  the  crow  seems  to  be  well  aware  might  effectually 
disable  him.  The  first  time  I  witnessed  such  a  scene,  I 
was  at  the  side  of  the  creek,  and  saw  on  the  opposite 
shore  a  goose  with  her  goslings  beset  by  a  crow ;  from 
the  apparent  alarm  of  the  mother  and  brood,  it  seemed  to 


106  E AMBLES  OF 

me  they  must  be  in  great  danger,  and  I  called  to  the 
owner  of  the  place,  who  happened  to  be  in  sight,  to  in- 
form  him  of  their  situation.  Instead  of  going  to  their 
relief,  he  shouted  back  to  me,  to  ask  if  the  gander  was 
not  there  too;  and  as  soon  as  he  was  answered  in  the  af- 
firmative, he  bid  me  be  under  no  uneasiness,  as  the  crow 
would  find  his  match.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  cool 
impudence  and  pertinacity  of  the  crow,  who,  perfectly 
regardless  of  my  shouting,  continued  to  worry  the  poor 
gander  for  an  hour,  by  his  efforts  to  obtain  a  nice  gos- 
ling for  his  next  meal.  At  length  convinced  of  the  fruit- 
lessnessof  his  efforts,  he  flew  off  to  seek  some  more  easily 
procurable  food.  Several  crows  sometimes  unite  to  plun- 
der the  goose  of  her  young,  and  are  then  generally  suc- 
cessful, because  they  are  able  to  distract  the  attention  of 
the  parents,  and  lure  them  farther  from  their  young. 

In  the  summer  the  crows  disperse  in  pairs  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  their  young,  and  then  they  select  lofty 
trees  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  forest,  upon  which  with 
dry  sticks  and  twigs  they  build  a  large  strong  nest,  and 
line  it  with  softer  materials.  They  lay  four  or  five  eggs, 
and  when  they  are  hatched,  feed,  attend,  and  watch  over 
their  young  with  the  most  zealous  devotion.  Should  any 
one  by  chance  pass  near  the  nest  while  the  eggs  are  still 
unhatched,  or  the  brood  are  very  young,  the  parents  keep 
close,  and  neither  by  the  slightest  movement  nor  noise 
betray  their  presence.  But  if*the  young  are  fledged,  and 
beginning  to  take  their  first  lessons  in  flying,  the  ap- 


A  NATURALIST.  107 

proach  of  a  man,  especially  if  armed  with  a  gun,  calls 
forth  all  their  cunning  and  solicitude.  The  young  are 
immediately  placed  in  the  securest  place  at  hand,  where 
the  foliage  is  thickest,  and  remain  perfectly  motionless 
and  quiet.  Not  so  the  alarmed  parents,  both  of  which 
fly  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  hunter,  uttering  the  most 
discordant  screams,  with  an  occasional  peculiar  note, 
which  seems  intended  to  direct  or  warn  their  young.  So 
close  do  they  approach,  and  so  clamorous  are  they  as  the 
hunter  endeavours  to  get  a  good  view  of  them  on  the  tree, 
that  he  is  almost  uniformly  persuaded  the  young  crows 
are  also  concealed  there;  but  he  does  not  perceive,  as  he 
is  cautiously  trying  to  get  within  gun  shot,  that  they  are 
moving  from  tree  to  tree,  and  at  each  remove  are  farther 
and  farther  from  the  place  where  the  young  are  hid 
After  continuing  this  trick,  until  it  is  impossible  that  the 
hunter  can  retain  any  idea  of  the  situation  of  the  young 
ones,  the  parents  cease  their  distressing  outcries,  fly 
quietly  to  the  most  convenient  lofty  tree,  and  calmly 
watch  the  movements  of  their  disturber.  Now  and  then 
they  utter  a  loud  quick  cry,  which  seems  intended  to  bid 
their  offspring  lie  close  and  keep  quiet,  and  it  is  very 
generally  the  case  that  they  escape  all  danger  by  their 
obedience.  An  experienced  crow-killer  watches  eagerly 
for  the  tree  where  the  crows  first  start  from  ;  and  if  this 
can  be  observed,  he  pays  no  attention  to  their  clamours, 
nor  pretence  of  throwing  themselves  in  his  way,  as  he  is 
satisfied  they  are  too  vigilant  to  let  him  get  a  shot  at 


108  RAMBLES  OF 

them ;  and  if  he  can  see  the  young,  he  is  tolerably  sure 
of  them  all,  because  of  their  inability  to  fly  or  change 
place  readily. 

The  time  of  the  year  in  which  the  farmers  suffer  most 
from  them  is  in  the  spring,  before  their  enormous  congre- 
gations disperse,  and  when  they  are  rendered  voracious 
by  the  scantiness  of  their  winter  fare.  Woe  betide  the 
corn  field  which  is  not  closely  watched,  when  the  young 
grain  begins  to  shoot  above  the  soil!  If  not  well  guarded, 
a  host  of  these  marauders  will  settle  upon  it  at  the  first 
light  of  the  dawn,  and  before  the  sun  has  risen  far  above 
the  horizon,  will  have  plundered  every  shoot  of  the  germi- 
nating seed,  by  first  drawing  it  skilfully  from  the  moist 
earth  by  the  young  stalk,  and  then  swallowing  the  grain. 
The  negligent  or  careless  planter,  who  does  not  visit  his 
field  before  breakfast,  finds,  on  his  arrival,  that  he  must 
either  replant  his  corn,  or  relinquish  hopes  of  a  crop; 
and  without  the  exertion  of  due  vigilance,  he  may  be 
obliged  to  repeat  this  process  twice  or  thrice  the  same 
season.  Where  the  crows  go  to  rob  a  field  in  this  way, 
they  place  one  or  more  sentinels,  according  to  circum- 
stances, in  convenient  places,  and  these  are  exceedingly 
vigilant,  uttering  a  single  warning  call,  which  puts  the 
whole  to  flight  the  instant  there  is  the  least  appearance 
of  danger  or  interruption.  Having  fixed  their  sentinels, 
they  begin  regularly  at  one  part  of  the  field,  and  pursu- 
ing the  rows  along,  pulling  up  each  shoot  in  succession, 
and  biting  off  the  corn  at  the  root.  The  green  shoots 


A  NATURALIST.  109 

thus  left  along  the  rows,  as  if  they  had  been  arranged 
with  care,  offer  a  melancholy  memorial  of  the  work 
which  has  been  effected  by  these  cunning  and  destruc- 
tive plunderers. 

Numerous  experiments  have  been  made,  where  the 
crows  are  thus  injurious,  to  avert  their  ravages ;  and  the 
method  I  shall  now  relate  I  have  seen  tried  with  the 
most  gratifying  success.  In  a  large  tub  a  portion  of  tar 
and  grease  were  mixed,  so  as  to  render  the  tar  sufficiently 
thin  and  soft,  and  to  this  was  added  a  portion  of  slacked 
lime  in  powder,  and  the  whole  stirred  until  thoroughly 
incorporated.  The  seed  corn  was  then  thrown  in,  and 
stirred  with  the  mixture  until  each  grain  received  a  uni- 
form coating.  The  corn  was  then  dropped  in  the  hills, 
and  covered  as  usual.  This  treatment  was  found  to  re- 
tard the  germination  about  three  days,  as  the  mixture 
greatly  excludes  moisture  from  the  grain.  But  the  crows 
did  no  injury  to  the  field ;  they  pulled  up  a  small  quantity 
in  different  parts  of  the  planting,  to  satisfy  themselves  it 
was  all  alike ;  upon  becoming  convinced  of  which,  they 
quietly  left  it  for  some  less  carefully  managed  grounds, 
where  pains  had  not  been  taken  to  make  all  the  corn  so 
nauseous  and  bitter. 


10 


110  RAMBLES  OF 


NO.  XL 

It  rarely  happens  that  any  of  the  works  of  nature  are 
wholly  productive  of  evil,  and  even  the  crows,  trouble- 
some as  they  are,  contribute  in  a  small  degree  to  the 
good  of  the  district  they  frequent.  Thus,  though  they 
destroy  eggs  and  young  poultry,  plunder  the  cornfields, 
and  carry  off  whatever  may  serve  for  food,  they  also  rid 
the  surface  of  the  earth  of  a  considerable  quantity  of 
carrion,  and  a  vast  multitude  of  insects  and  their  destruc- 
tive larvsB.  The  crows  are  very  usefully  employed  when 
they  alight  upon  newly  ploughed  fields,  and  pick  up 
great  numbers  of  those  large  and  long-lived  worms, 
which  are  so  destructive  to  the  roots  of  all  growing  vege- 
tables ;  and  they  are  scarcely  less  so,  when  they  follow 
the  seine  haulers  along  the  shores,  and  pick  up  the  small 
fishes,  which  would  otherwise  be  left  to  putrify  and  load 
the  air  with  unpleasant  vapours.  Nevertheless,  they  be- 
come far  more  numerous  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
than  is  at  all  necessary  to  the  good  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  whoever  would  devise  a  method  of  lessening  their 
numbers  suddenly,  would  certainly  be  doing  a  service  to 
the  community. 


A  NATURALIST.  1  1  1 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the  house  I  lived  in 
on  Curtis's  creek,  the  shore  was  a  sand  bank  or  bluff, 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  crowned  with  a  dense  young 
pine  forest  to  its  very  edge.  Almost  directly  opposite, 
the  shore  was  flat,  and  formed  a  point  extending  in  the 
form  of  a  broad  sand  bar,  for  a  considerable  distance 
into  the  water,  and  when  the  tide  was  low,  this  flat  af- 
forded a  fine  level  space,  to  which  nothing  could  approach 
in  either  direction,  without  being  easily  seen.  At  a 
short  distance  from  the  water,  a  young  swamp  wood  of 
maple,  gum,  oaks,  &c.  extended  back,  towards  some 
higher  ground.  As  the  sun  descended,  and  threw  his 
last  rays  in  one  broad  sheet  of  golden  effulgence  over 
the  crystal  mirror  of  the  waters,  innumerable  compa- 
nies of  crows  arrived  daily,  and  settled  on  this  point,  for 
the  purpose  of  drinking,  picking  up  gravel,  and  uniting 
in  one  body  prior  to  retiring  for  the  night  to  their  accus- 
tomed dormitory.  The  trees  adjacent  and  ah"  the  shore 
would  be  literally  blackened  by  those  plumed  marauders, 
while  their  increasing  outcries,  chattering  and  screams, 
were  almost  deafening.  It  certainly  seems  that  they 
derive  great  pleasure  from  their  social  habits,  and  I  of- 
ten amused  myself  by  thinking  the  uninterrupted  clatter 
which  was  kept  up,  as  the  different  gangs  united  with 
the  main  body,  was  produced  by  the  recital  of  the  adven- 
tures they  had  encountered  during  their  last  marauding 
excursions.  As  the  sun  became  entirely  sunk  below  the 
horizon,  the  grand  flock  crossed  to  the  sand  bluff  on  the 


112  RAMBLES  OF 

opposite  side,  where  they  generally  spent  a  few  moments 
in  picking  up  a  further  supply  of  gravel,  and  then,  rising 
in  dense  and  ample  column,  they  sought  their  habitual 
roost  in  the  deep  entanglements  of  the  distant  pines. 
This  daily  visit  to  the  point,  so  near  to  my  dwelling,  and 
so  accessible  by  means  of  the  skiff,  led  me  to  hope  that 
I  should  have  considerable  success  in  destroying  them. 
Full  of  such  anticipations,  I  loaded  two  guns,  and  pro- 
ceeded  in  my  boat  to  the  expected  place  of  action,  pre- 
vious to  the  arrival  of  the  crows.  My  view  was  to  have 
my  boat  somewhere  about  half  way  between  the  two 
two  shores,  and  as  they  never  manifested  much  fear  of 
boats,  to  take  my  chance  of  firing  upon  the  main  body 
as  they  were  flying  over  my  head  to  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river.  Shortly  after  I  had  gained  my  station,  the 
companies  began  to  arrive,  and  every  thing  went  on  as 
usual.  But  whether  they  suspected  some  mischief  from 
seeing  a  boat  so  long  stationary  in  their  vicinity,  or  could 
see  and  distinguish  the  guns  in  the  boat,  I  am  unable  to 
say ;  the  fact  was,  however,  that  when  they  set  out  to 
fly  over,  they  passed  at  an  elevation  which  secured  them 
from  my  artillery  effectually,  although,  on  ordinary  oc- 
casions, they  were  in  the  habit  of  flying  over  me  at  a 
height  of  not  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  I  return- 
ed home  without  having  had  a  shot,  but  resolved  to  try 
if  I  could  not  succeed  better  the  next  day.  The  same 
result  followed  the  experiment,  and  when  I  fired  at  one 
gang,  which  it  appeared  possible  to  attain,  the  instant 


A  KATURALIST.  113 

the  gun  was  discharged,  the  crows  made  a  sort  of  halt, 
descended  considerably,  flying  in  circles,  and  screaming 
most  vociferously,  as  if  in  contempt  or  derision.  Had  I 
been  prepared  for  this,  a  few  of  them  might  have  suffer- 
ed for  their  bravado.  But  my  second  gun  was  in  the 
bow  of  the  boat,  and  before  I  could  get  it,  the  black 
gentry  had  risen  to  their  former  security.  While  we 
were  sitting  at  tea  that  evening,  a  black  came  to  inform 
me  that  a  considerable  flock  of  crows,  which  had  arrived 
too  late  to  join  the  great  flock,  had  pitched  in  the  young 
pines  not  a  great  way  from  the  house,  and  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  road-side.  We  quickly  had  the  guns 
in  readiness,  and  I  scarcely  could  restrain  my  impa- 
tience until  it  should  be  late  enough  and  dark  enough  to 
give  us  a  chance  of  success.  Without  thinking  of  any 
thing  but  the  great  number  of  the  crows,  and  their  in- 
ability to  fly  to  advantage  in  the  night,  my  notions  of 
the  numbers  we  should  bring  home  were  extravagant 
enough,  and  I  only  regretted  that  we  might  be  obliged 
to  leave  some  behind.  At  length,  led  by  the  black  boy, 
we  sallied  forth,  and  soon  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  this 
temporary  and  unusual  roost ;  and  now  the  true  charac- 
ter of  the  enterprise  began  to  appear.  We  were  to  leave 
the  road,  and  penetrate  several  hundred  yards  among 
the  pines,  whose  proximity  to  each  other,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  moving  between  which,  on  account  of  the  dead 
branches,  has  been  heretofore  stated.  Next,  we  had  to 
be  careful  not  to  alarm  the  crows  before  we  were  ready 
10* 


114  RAMBLES  OF 

to  act,  and  at  the  same  time  were  to  advance  with  cocked 
guns  in  our  hands.  The  only  way  of  moving  forwards 
at  all,  I  found  to  be  that  of  turning  my  shoulders  as 
much  as  possible  to  the  dead  branches,  and  breaking  my 
way  as  gently  as  I  could.  At  last  we  reached  the  trees 
upon  which  the  crows  were  roosting ;  but  as  the  foliage 
of  the  young  pines  was  extremely  dense,  and  the  birds 
were  full  forty  feet  above  the  ground,  it  was  out  of  the 
question  to  distinguish  where  the  greatest  number  were 
situated.  Selecting  the  trees  which  appeared  by  the 
greater  darkness  of  their  summits  to  be  most  heavily 
laden  with  our  game,  my  companion  and  I  pulled  our 
triggers  at  the  same  moment.  The  report  was  followed 
by  considerable  outcries  from  the  crows,  by  a  heavy 
shower  of  pine  twigs  and  leaves  upon  which  the  shot 
had  taken  effect,  and  a  deafening  roar  caused  by  the  sud- 
den rising  on  the  wing  of  the  alarmed  sleepers.  One 
crow  at  length  fell  near  me,  which  was  wounded  too 
badly  to  fly  or  retain  his  perch,  and  as  the  flock  had 
gone  entirely  off,  with  this  one  crow  did  I  return,  rather 
crestfallen  from  my  grand  nocturnal  expedition.  This 
crow,  however,  afforded  me  instructive  employment  and 
amusement  during  the  next  day,  in  the  dissection  of  its 
nerves  and  organs  of  sense,  and  I  know  not  that  I  ever 
derived  more  pleasure  from  any  anatomical  examination, 
than  I  did  from  the  dissection  of  its  internal  ear.  The 
extent  and  convolutions  of  its  semicircular  canals,  show 
how  highly  the  sense  of  hearing  is  perfected  in  these 


A  NATURALIST.  115 

creatures,  and  those  who  wish  to  be  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  what  we  have  stated  in  relation  to  them,  may 
still  see  this  identical  crow  skull,  in  the  Baltimore  Mu- 
seum, to  which  I  presented  it  after  finishing  the  dissec- 
tion. At  least,  I  saw  it  there  a  year  or  two  since, 
though  I  little  thought,  when  employed  in  examining,  or 
even  when  I  last  saw  it,  that  it  would  ever  be  the  subject 
of  such  a  reference  "  in  a  printed  book." 

Not  easily  disheartened  by  preceding  failures,  I  next 
resolved  to  try  to  outwit  the  crows,  and  for  this  purpose 
prepared  a  long  line,  to  which  a  very  considerable  num- 
ber of  lateral  lines  were  tied,  having  each  a  very  small 
fishing  hook  at  the  end.  Each  of  these  hooks  was  bait- 
ed with  a  single  grain  of  corn,  so  cunningly  put  on, 
that  it  seemed  impossible  that  the  grain  could  be  taken 
up  without  the  hook  being  swallowed  with  it.  About 
four  o'clock,  in  order  to  be  in  full  time,  I  rowed  up  to 
the  sandy  point,  made  fast  my  main  line  to  a  bush,  and 
extending  it  toward  the  water,  pegged  it  down  at  the 
other  end  securely  in  the  sand.  I  next  arranged  all  my 
baited  lines,  and  then  covering  them  all  nicely  with 
sand,  left  nothing  exposed  but  the  bait.  This  done,  I 
scattered  a  quantity  of  corn  all  around,  to  render  the 
baits  as  little  liable  to  suspicion  as  possible.  After  taking 
a  final  view  of  the  arrangement,  which  seemed  a  very 
hopeful  one,  I  pulled  my  boat  gently  homeward,  to  wait 
the  event  of  my  solicitude  for  the  capture  of  the  crows. 
As  usual,  they  arrived  in  thousands,  blackened  the  sand 


116  RAMBLES  OF 

beach,  chattered,  screamed,  and  fluttered  about  in  great 
glee,  and  finally  sailed  over  the  creek  and  away  to  their 
roost,  without  having  left  a  solitary  unfortunate  to  pay 
for  having  meddled  with  my  baited  hooks.  I  jumped 
into  the  skiff,  and  soon  paid  a  visit  to  my  unsuccessful 
snare.  The  corn  was  all  gone  ;  the  very  hooks  were  all 
bare,  and  it  was  evident  that  some  other  expedient  must  be 
adopted  before  I  could  hope  to  succeed.  Had  I  caught 
but  one  or  two  alive,  it  was  my  intention  to  have  em- 
ployed  them  to  procure  the  destruction  of  others,  in  a 
manner  I  shall  hereafter  describe. 


A  NATURALIST.  1  1 7 


NO.    XII. 

Had  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  some  living  crows,  they 
were  to  be  employed  in  the  following  manner.  After 
having  made  a  sort  of  concealment  of  brushwood  within 
good  gunshot  distance,  the  crows  were  to  be  fastened  by 
their  wings  on  their  backs,  between  two  pegs,  yet  not 
so  closely  as  to  prevent  them  from  fluttering  or  strug- 
gling. The  other  crows,  who  are  always  very  inquisi- 
tive where  their  species  is  in  any  trouble,  were  expected 
to  settle  down  near  the  captives,  and  the  latter  would 
certainly  seize  the  first  that  came  near  enough  with 
their  claws,  and  hold  on  pertinaciously.  This  would 
have  produced  fighting  and  screaming  in  abundance,  and 
the  whole  flock  might  gradually  be  so  drawn  into  the 
fray,  as  to  allow  many  opportunities  of  discharging  the 
guns  upon  them  with  full  effect.  This  I  have  often  ob- 
served, that  when  a  quarrel  or  fight  took  place  in  a 
large  flock  or  gang  of  crows,  a  circumstance  by  no 
means  infrequent,  it  seemed  soon  to  extend  to  the  whole, 
and,  during  the  continuance  of  their  anger,  all  the  usual 
caution  of  their  nature  appeared  to  be  forgotten,  allowing 
themselves  at  such  times  to  be  approached  closely  and  re- 


1  1  8  RAMBLES  OF 

gardless  of  men,  fire-arms,  or  the  fall  of  their  compa- 
nions, continuing  their  wrangling  with  rancorous  obsti- 
nacy. A  similar  disposition  may  be  produced  among 
them  by  catching  a  large  owl,  and  tying  it  with  a  cord 
of  moderate  length  to  the  limb  of  a  naked  tree  in  a 
neighbourhood  frequented  by  the  crows.  The  owl  is  one 
of  the  few  enemies  which  the  crow  has  much  reason  to 
dread,  as  it  robs  the  nests  of  their  young,  whenever  they 
are  left  for  the  shortest  time.  Hence,  whenever  crows 
discover  an  owl  in  the  day  time,  like  many  other  birds, 
they  commence  an  attack  upon  it,  screaming  most  voci- 
ferously, and  bringing  together  all  of  their  species  with- 
in hearing.  Once  this  clamour  has  fairly  begun,  and  their 
passions  are  fully  aroused,  there  is  little  danger  of  their 
being  scared  away,  and  the  chance  of  destroying  them 
by  shooting  is  continued  as  long  as  the  owl  remains  un- 
injured. But  one  such  opportunity  presented  during  my 
residence  where  crows  were  abundant,  and  this  was  un- 
fortunately spoiled  by  the  eagerness  of  one  of  the  gun- 
ners, who,  in  his  anxiety  to  demolish  one  of  the  crows, 
fixed  upon  some  that  were  most  busy  with  the  owl,  and 
killed  it  instead  of  its  disturbers,  which  at  once  ended 
the  sport.  When  the  crows  leave  the  roost,  at  early 
dawn,  they  generally  fly  to  a  naked  or  leafless  tree  in 
the  nearest  field,  and  there  plume  themselves  and  chatter 
until  the  daylight  is  sufficiently  clear  to  show  all  objects 
with  distinctness.  Of  this  circumstance  I  have  taken 
advantage  several  times  to  get  good  shots  at  them  in 


A  NATURALIST.  1  1 9 

this  way.  During  the  day  time,  having  selected  a  spot 
within  proper  distance  of  the  tree  frequented  by  them 
in  the  morning,  I  have  built  with  brushwood  and  pine 
bushes  a  thick,  close  screen,  behind  which  one  or  two 
persons  might  move  securely  without  being  observed. 
Proper  openings,  through  which  to  level  the  guns,  were 
also  made,  as  the  slightest  stir  or  noise  could  not  be 
made  at  the  time  of  action,  without  a  risk  of  rendering 
all  the  preparations  fruitless.  The  guns  were  all  in  or- 
der  and  loaded  before  going  to  bed,  and  at  an  hour  or 
two  before  daylight,  we  repaired  quietly  to  the  field  and 
stationed  ourselves  behind  the  screen,  where,  having 
mounted  our  guns  at  the  loop-holes  to  be  in  perfect  rea- 
diness, we  waited  patiently  for  the  daybreak.  Soon  after 
the  gray  twilight  of  the  dawn  began  to  displace  the 
darkness,  the  voice  of  one  of  our  expected  visitants 
would  be  heard  from  the  distant  forest,  and  shortly  after 
a  single  crow  would  slowly  sail  towards  the  solitary  tree 
and  settle  on  its  very  summit.  Presently  a  few  more 
would  arrive  singly,  and  in  a  little  while  small  flocks 
followed.  Conversation  among  them  is  at  first  rather 
limited  to  occasional  salutations,  but  as  the  flock  begins 
to  grow  numerous,  it  becomes  general  and  very  animat- 
ed, and  by  this  time  all  that  may  be  expected  on  this  oc- 
casion have  arrived.  This  may  be  known  also,  by  ob- 
serving one  or  more  of  them  descend  to  the  ground, 
and  if  the  gunners  do  not  now  make  the  best  of  the  oc- 
casion, it  will  soon  be  lost,  as  the  whole  gang  will  pre- 


120  RAMBLES  OP 

sently  sail  off,  scattering  as  they  go.  However,  we  rare- 
ly  waited  till  there  was  a  danger  of  their  departure,  but 
as  soon  as  the  flock  had  fairly  arrived  and  were  still 
crowded  upon  the  upper  parts  of  the  tree,  we  pulled 
triggers  together,  aiming  at  the  thickest  of  the  throng. 
In  this  way,  by  killing  and  wounding  them,  with  two  or 
three  guns,  a  dozen  or  more  would  be  destroyed.  It 
was  of  course  needless  to  expect  to  find  a  similar  oppor- 
tunity in  the  same  place  for  a  long  time  afterwards,  as 
those  which  escaped  had  too  good  memories  to  return  to 
so  disastrous  a  spot.  By  ascertaining  other  situations  at 
considerable  distances,  we  could  every  now  and  then 
obtain  similar  advantages  over  them. 

About  the  years  1800,  1,  2,  3,  4,  the  crows  were  so 
vastly  accumulated  and  destructive  in  the  state  of  Mary- 
land, that  the  government,  to  hasten  their  diminution, 
received  their  heads  in  payment  of  taxes,  at  the  price  of 
three  cents  each.  The  store-keepers  bought  them  of  the 
boys  and  shooters,  who  had  no  taxes  to  pay,  at  a  rather 
lower  rate,  or  exchanged  powder  and  shot  for  them.  This 
measure  caused  a  great  havoc  to  be  kept  up  among  them, 
and  in  a  few  years  so  .much  diminished  the  grievance, 
that  the  price  was  withdrawn.  Two  modes  of  shooting 
them  in  considerable  numbers  were  followed  and  with 
great  success ;  the  one,  that  of  killing  them  while  on 
the  wing  towards  the  roost,  and  the  other  attacking 
them  in  the  night  when  they  had  been  for  some  hours 
asleep.  I  have  already  mentioned  the  regularity  with 


A  NATUBALIST.  1  2  1 

which  vast  flocks  move  from  various  quarters  of  the 
country  to  their  roosting  places  every  afternoon,  and  the 
uniformity  of  the  route  they  pursue.  In  cold  weather, 
when  all  the  small  bodies  of  water  are  frozen,  and  they 
are  obliged  to  protract  their  flight  towards  the  bays  or 
sea,  their  return  is  a  work  of  considerable  labour,  espe- 
cially should  a  strong  wind  blow  against  them  ;  at  this 
season  also,  being  rather  poorly  fed,  they  are  of  necessity 
less  vigorous.  Should  the  wind  be  adverse,  they  fly  as 
near  the  earth  as  possible,  and  of  this  the  shooters  at  the 
time  I  allude  to  took  advantage.  A  large  number  would 
collect  on  such  an  afternoon,  and  station  themselves  close 
along  the  foot-way  of  a  high  bank,  over  which  the  crows 
were  in  the  habit  of  flying  ;  and  as  they  were  in  a  great 
degree  screened  from  sight  as  the  flock  flew  over,  keep- 
ing as  low  as  possible  because  of  the  wind,  their  shots 
were  generally  very  effectual.  The  stronger  was  the 
wind,  the  greater  was  their  success.  The  crows  that 
were  not  injured  found  it  very  difficult  to  rise ;  and  those 
that  diverged  laterally,  only  came  nearer  to  gunners  sta- 
tioned in  expectation  of  such  movements.  The  flocks 
were  several  hours  in  passing  over,  and  as  there  was 
generally  a  considerable  interval  between  each  company 
of  considerable  size,  the  last  arrived,  unsuspicious  of  what 
had  been  going  on,  and  the  shooters  had  time  to  recharge 
their  arms.  But  the  grand  harvest  of  crow  heads  was 
derived  from  the  invasion  of  their  dormitories,  which  are 
well  worthy  a  particular  description,  and  should  be  visited 
11 


122  RAMBLES  OF 

by  every  one  who  wishes  to  form  a  proper  idea  of  the 
number  of  these  birds,  that  may  be  accumulated  in  a  single 
district.  The  roost  is  most  commonly  the  densest  pine 
thicket  that  can  be  found,  generally  at  no  great  distance 
from  some  river,  bay,  or  other  sheet  of  water,  which  is 
the  last  to  freeze,  or  rarely  is  altogether  frozen.  To  such 
a  roost,  the  crows,  which  are,  during  the  day-time, 
scattered  over  perhaps  more  than  a  hundred  miles  of  cir- 
cumference, wing  their  way  every  afternoon,  and  arrive 
shortly  after  sunset.  Endless  columns  pour  in  from 
various  quarters,  and  as  they  arrive  pitch  upon  their  ac- 
customed perches,  crowding  closely  together  for  the 
benefit  of  the  warmth  and  the  shelter  afforded  by  the 
thick  foliage  of  the  pine.  The  trees  are  literally  bent  by 
their  weight,  and  the  ground  is  covered  for  many  feet  in 
depth  by  their  dung,  which  by  its  gradual  fermentation, 
must  also  tend  to  increase  the  warmth  of  the  roost. 
Such  roosts  are  known  to  be  thus  occupied  for  years, 
beyond  the  memory  of  individuals ;  and  I  know  of  one  or 
two,  which  the  oldest  residents  in  the  quarter  state  to 
have  been  known  to  their  grandfathers,  and  probably  had 
been  resorted  to  by  the  crows  during  several  ages  pre- 
vious. There  is  one  of  great  age  and  magnificent  extent, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Rock  Creek,  an  arm  of  the  Patapsco. 
They  are  sufficiently  numerous  on  the  rivers  opening 
into  the  Chesapeake,  and  are  every  where  similar  in  their 
general  aspect.  Wilson  has  signalised  such  a  roost  at  no 
great  distance  from  Bristol,  Pa.  and  I  know  by  observa- 


A  NATURALIST.  123 

tion,  that  not  less  than  a  million  of  crows  sleep  there 
nightly  during  the  winter  season. 

To  gather  crow  heads  from  the  roost,  a  very  large 
party  was  made  up,  proportioned  to  the  extent  of  surface 
occupied  by  the  dormitory.  Armed  with  double  barrelled 
and  duck  guns,  which  threw  a  large  charge  of  shot,  the 
company  was  divided  into  small  parties,  and  these  took 
stations,  selected  during  the  day  time,  so  as  to  surround 
the  roost  as  nearly  as  possible.  A  dark  night  was  always 
preferred,  as  the  crows  could  not  when  alarmed  fly  far, 
and  the  attack  was  delayed  until  full  midnight.  All 
being  at  their  posts,  the  firing  was  commenced  by  those 
who  were  most  advantageously  posted,  and  followed  up 
successively  by  the  others,  as  the  affrighted  crows  sought 
refuge  in  their  vicinity.  On  every  side  the  carnage  then 
raged  fiercely,  and  there  can  scarcely  be  conceived  a 
more  forcible  idea  of  the  horrors  of  a  battle,  than  such  a 
scene  afforded.  The  crows  screaming  with  fright  and 
the  pain  of  wounds,  the  loud  deep  roar  produced  by  the 
raising  of  their  whole  number  in  the  air,  the  incessant 
flashing  and  thundering  of  the  guns,  and  the  shouts  of 
their  eager  destroyers,  all  produced  an  effect  which  can 
never  be  forgotten  by  any  one  who  has  witnessed  it,  nor 
can  it  well  be  adequately  comprehended  by  those  who 
have  not.  Blinded  by  the  blaze  of  the  powder,  and  be- 
wildered by  the  thicker  darkness  that  ensues,  the  crows 
rise  and  settle  again  at  a  short  distance,  without  being 
able  to  withdraw  from  the  field  of  danger  ;  and  the  san- 


1  24  RAMBLES  OF 

guinary  work  is  continued  until  the  shooters  are  fatigued, 
or  the  approach  of  daylight  gives  the  survivors  a  chance 
of  escape.  Then  the  work  of  collecting  the  heads  from 
the  dead  and  wounded  began,  and  this  was  a  task  of  con- 
siderable  difficulty,  as  the  wounded  used  their  utmost 
efforts  to  conceal  and  defend  themselves.  The  bill  and 
half  the  front  of  the  skull  were  cut  off  together,  and  strung 
in  sums  for  the  tax-gatherer,  and  the  product  of  the  night 
divided  according  to  the  nature  of  the  party  formed. 
Sometimes  the  great  mass  of  shooters  were  hired  for  the 
night,  and  received  no  shares  of  scalps,  having  their  am- 
munition provided  by  the  employers ;  other  parties  were 
formed  of  friends  and  neighbours,  who  clubbed  for  the 
ammunition,  and  shared  equally  in  the  result. 

During  hard  winters  the  crows'  suffer  severely,  and 
perish  in  considerable  numbers  from  hunger,  though 
they  endure  a  wonderful  degree  of  abstinence  without 
much  injury.  When  starved  severely,  the  poor 
wretches  will  swallow  bits  of  leather,  rope,  rags,  in  short 
any  thing  that  appears  to  promise  the  slightest  relief. 
Multitudes  belonging  to  the  Bristol  roost,  perished  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1828-9  from  this  cause.  All  the  water 
courses  were  solidly  frozen,  and  it  was  distressing  to 
observe  these  starvelings  every  morning  winging  their 
weary  way  towards  the  shores  of  the  sea  in  hopes  of 
food,  and  again  to  see  them  toiling  homewards  in  the 
afternoon,  apparently  scarce  able  to  fly. 

In  speaking  of  destroying  crows,  we  have  never  ad- 


A  NATURALIST.  125 

verted  to  the  use  of  poison,  which  in  their  case  is  wholly 
inadmissible  on  this  account.  Where  crows  are  common 
hogs  generally  run  at  large,  and  to  poison  the  crows 
would  equally  poison  them;  the  crows  would  die,  and 
fall  to  the  ground,  where  they  would  certainly  be  eaten 
by  the  hogs. 

Crows,  when  caught  young,  learn  to  talk  plainly,  if 
pains  be  taken  to  repeat  certain  phrases  to  them,  and 
they  become  exceedingly  impudent  and  troublesome. 
Like  all  of  their  tribe,  they  will  steal  and  hide  silver  or 
other  bright  objects,  of  which  they  can  make  no  possible 


11* 


REMINISCENCES 


OF   A 


VOYAGE   TO   INDIA 


REYNELL  COATES,  M.  D. 


REMINISCENCES. 


NO.  I. 


The  American  public  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  folly 
of  those  tourists,  who,  after  a  week's  residence  in  a  capi- 
tal city,  take  passage  in  a  line  of  coaches,  and  hastily 
circumambulating  a  small  portion  of  a  great  continent, 
return  to  launch  out  into  profound  disquisitions  on  na- 
tional character  and  the  mutability  of  governments.  I 
am  not  of  this  school ;  but  as  no  one  can  travel  round 
two  thirds  of  the  circumference  of  our  globe,  either  by 
land  or  sea,  without  acquiring  many  facts,  and  making 
many  observations  highly  interesting  to  those  who  quietly 
enjoy  the  sweets  of  social  intercourse  around  the  paternal 
hearth,  I  hope  that  these  detached  reminiscences,  while 
they  contribute  to  my  own  happiness  by  recalling  scenes 
of  grandeur  and  of  beauty  which  I  can  never  hope  to 
revisit,  may  also  prove  a  harmless  recreation, 


130  REMINISCENCES  OF 

MINUTE  ANIMALS  OF  THE  OCEAN. 

The  innumerable  tribes  of  insects  which  swarm  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  delighting  us  by  the  brilliancy 
of  their  colouring,  or  tormenting  us  with  their  attacks 
upon  our  persons  or  our  property,  although  their  armies 
sometimes  render  whole  countries  uninhabitable,  destroy- 
ing every  blade  of  grass  in  their  career ;  even  these  seem- 
ingly interminable  hosts  must  yield  the  palm  in  number, 
beauty,  every  thing  except  destructiveness,  to  the  sky- 
tinted  denizens  of  the  ocean.  Every  leaf  of  sea-weed, 
every  fragment  of  floating  timber,  teems  with  life  in  some 
of  its  most  interesting  forms,  and  the  blue  expanse  of 
waves  is  every  where  studded  with  animated  gems,  which 
sail  along  its  surface  or  lie  hidden  in  its  bosom. 

The  seaman,  as  the  vessel  hurries  along,  catches  occa- 
sional glimpses  of  misty  specks  floating  beneath  him, 
which,  to  his  careless  eye,  appear  like  the  spawn  of  fishes, 
or  the  slime  washed  from  their  bodies,  yet  in  these  un- 
promising  and  neglected  atoms,  closer  examination  dis- 
covers beings  whose  delicacy  of  structure  defies  the 
pencil,  and  whose  tints  are  rivalled  only  by  those  of  a 
summer's  evening. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  many  minds  capable  of 
enjoying,  in  the  highest  degree,  those  pleasures  which 
may  be  drawn  from  every  department  of  natural  history, 
are  arrested  on  the  threshold  of  the  study  by  the  dry  and 
technical  systems,  which  are  but  the  common-place  books 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  131 

of  the  science,  but  which  are  too  generally  regarded  as 
the  science  itself.  Some  knowledge  of  these  systems 
seems  indispensable  to  the  grand  and  general  views  which 
constitute  the  chief  interest  of  many  departments  of  na- 
ture ;  but  the  minute  inhabitants  of  the  ocean  possess  a 
charm  for  every  eye,  an  interest  peculiarly  their  own. 
In  observing  their  beauties  and  their  manners,  the  tra- 
veller would  find  delightful  occupation,  and  the  tedium 
of  the  sea  would  be  forgotten. 

Much  of  my  time  was  employed  in  catching  these 
minute  animals  with  a  net  of  bunting  secured  to  a  cane 
twelve  feet  in  length,  with  which  practice  soon  rendered 
me  so  adroit,  that  little  escaped  me  that  floated  within 
three  feet  of  the  surface.  I  cannot  hope,  by  mere  de- 
scription, to  inspire  others  with  the  same  enthusiastic 
admiration  which  I  felt  in  a  personal  examination  of  the 
wonders  of  my  net;  but  I  trust  that,  in  introducing 
some  of  these  new  acquaintances  to  your  readers,  I  shall 
not  be  accused  of  making  a  burdensome  addition  to  their 
circle. 

The  vast  tract  of  waters  constituting  the  Gulf  stream, 
stretching  itself  along  the  coast  of  North  America,  lies 
like  a  huge  ocean  desert,  shunned  even  by  the  fish, 
which  are  seen  but  rarely  within  its  limits  ;  but  on  the 
farther  side  a  counter  current  travels  at  a  slower  pace  in 
the  opposite  direction.  The  surface  of  this  current  is 
thickly  covered  with  masses  of  sea-weed  and  other  float- 
ing bodies,  swept  by  the  stream  from  the  shores  of  the 


132  REMINISCENCES  OF 

Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  southern  states,  and  collected  in 
the  eddies.  Each  little  tuft,  if  carefully  taken,  and  placed 
in  a  tumbler  or  basin  of  salt  water,  will  display  a  number 
of  beautiful  shrimps,  spotted,  chequered,  or  striped  with 
every  shade  of  colouring ;  a  variety  of  minute  crabs,  little 
shells,  and  not  unfrequently  fish,  in  comparison  with 
which  the  minrioes  of  our  creeks  are  leviathans.  Most  of 
these  various  tribes  which  have  been  carried  by  the  cur- 
rent from  their  native  shores,  would  speedily  perish  in 
the  unfathomable  depths  of  their  own  element,  if  deprived 
for  a  long  time  of  the  support  afforded  by  their  little 
vessel. 

One  would  suppose  that  a  voyage  of  three  thousand 
miles,  performed  in  company,  and  within  the  narrow 
confines  of  a  tuft  of  leaves,  would  be  sufficient  to  es- 
tablish a  good  understanding  in  the  little  community; 
but,  alas !  the  natural  propensities  to  violence  and  plunder, 
which  not  even  the  lofty  attribute  of  human  reason  can 
control,  here  rage  with  unrestrained  violence ;  no  sooner 
is  this  mimic  world  confined  within  the  precincts  of  the 
tumbler  or  the  basin,  than  the  whole  vessel  displays  a 
system  of  inveterate  warfare.  In  vain  do  the  smaller 
shrimps  dart  through  the  labyrinth  of  leaves  to  elude  the 
pursuit  of  the  crabs ;  they  are  speedily  torn  in  pieces,  or 
driven  from  their  shelter  to  become  the  prey  of  some  vo- 
racious fish,  which,  flying  before  the  persecution  of  its 
larger  brethren,  thus  repays  the  hospitality  of  those  in 
whose  dominions  it  seeks  obscurity  and  safety.  But  this 


A  VOYAGE  TO  IKDIA.  1 33 

ingratitude  seldom  passes  unpunished.  Pent  within  nar- 
row bounds,  and  unable  to  elude  pursuit  by  shooting  be- 
yond the  grasp  of  its  insulted  protectors,  a  desperate  con- 
flict ensues  between  the  fish  and  the  crabs,  and  in  a  few 
hours  nothing  of  the  animated  scene  survives,  except 
some  two  or  three  mutilated  combatants,  who,  no  longer 
possessed  of  their  dangerous  weapons  of  offence,  or  ex- 
hausted with  wounds,  are  fain  to  make  a  peaceable  meal 
upon  the  carcasses  of  their  former  associates.  What 
moral  might  the  observer  extract  from  the  high  daring 
and  noble  prowess  of  these  little  aquatics,  none  of  which 
ever  acquire  the  paltry  magnitude  of  three  quarters  of 
an  inch !  What  exquisite  similes  might  be  drawn  from 
such  a  fertile  source  to  embellish  the  pages  of  history,  or 
to  be  sounded  upon  the  harp  of  flattery,  to  swell  the 
festive  raptures  of  the  hero ! 

Nothing  is  more  striking  to  the  naturalist  than  the 
contrast  between  the  grandeur  and  the  immensity  of 
power  displayed  by  the  angry  waves  around  him,  and 
the  delicate  and  fragile  forms  which  crowd  their  surface. 

The  crest  of  a  billow,  which  causes  the  tough  fir-ribbed 
vessel  to  tremble  beneath  it  like  a  child  under  the  rod  of 
its  tutor,  passes  harmlessly  over  myriads  of  beings,  which, 
when  removed  from  their  native  element,  dissolve  under 
the  fervour  of  the  sun,  or  break  in  pieces  by  their  own 
weight.  Yet,  unobtrusive  as  are  these  lower  links  in 
the  scale  of  nature,  escaping  by  their  very  humility  that 
destruction  which  so  often  overwhelms  the  proud  lord  of 
12 


134  REMINISCENCES  OF 

the  creation  in  spite  of  all  his  science  and  his  strength 
they  are  often  individually  dressed  in  beauty  before  which 
the  lily  would  fade,  and  the  rose  hide  its  blushes;  and, 
collectively,  they  produce  some  of  the  most  sublime  phe- 
nomena, which  have  even  astonished  the  philosopher, 
building  up  islands  in  the  midst  of  the  deep,  or,  in  mimic 
sportiveness,  alarming  the  mariner  with  the  appearance 
of  unreal  shoals,  and  wakening  the  lightning  of  the  wa- 
ters to  increase  the  brilliancy  of  moonlight,  or  to  render 
more  terrific  the  gloom  of  the  midnight  tempest. 

This  picture  may  appear  too  glowing  to  many,  but  in 
my  next  I  will  endeavour  to  establish  its  correctness. 

C. 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  135 


NO.  II. 


MOLLUSCJS.   FALSE  SHOALS. 

Those  who  have  sought  relief  from  the  summer  heats 
at  Long  Branch  or  Cape  May,  have  probably  noticed, 
in  their  ramblings  along  the  beach,  certain  gelatinous 
transparent  masses  deposited  by  the  receding  tide  upon 
the  sands.  They  resemble  very  large  plano-convex 
lenses,  and  are  devoid  of  colour,  except  in  a  few  minute 
points,  which  appeal  like  grains  of  yellow  sand,  or  the 
eggs  of  some  shells  embedded  in  their  substance.  This 
has  led  many  to  consider  them  as  the  spawn  of  some 

marine  auiuiul. 

If  one  of  these  gellies  be  placed  in  a  tub  of  brine  im- 
mediately after  it  reaches  the  shore,  the  observer  will  be 
surprised  to  find  it  possessed  of  animation.  The  supe- 
rior, or  convex  part,  will  expand  like  the  top  of  an  um- 
brella, and  from  its  under  surface  several  fringed  and 
leaf-like  membranes  will  be  developed.  The  remains 
of  numerous  threads,  or  tendrils,  will  float  out  from  the 
margin  of  the  umbrella,  following  the  motions  of  the 
animal  as  it  swims  around  the  tub.  These  threads  are 


136  REMINISCENCES  OF 

often  several  feet  in  length  before  they  are  broken  by 
the  sand  ;  they  are  probably  employed  both  to  entice 
and  secure  the  prey,  and  they  produce  a  sharp,  stinging 
sensation,  when  applied  to  the  skin.  It  is  from  the  ap- 
pearance and  offensive  power  of  these  last  organs,  that 
seamen  have  given  the  animal  the  title  of  the  sea  nettle, 
and  naturalists  the  generic  name  medusa. 

I  have  offered  this  rude  description  of  the  medusa,  as 
a  familiar  example  of  the  class  of  animated  beings 
which  are  the  subjects  of  the  following  remarks.  They 
are  all  alike  gelatinous  and  transparent,  and  many  of 
them  melt  and  flow  away  when  exposed  in  the  open  air 
to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 

Of  all  the  tribes  of  molluscse  which  are  scattered  over  eve- 
ry part  of  the  ocean,  the  most  splendid  and  the  best  known 
is  the  Portuguese  man-of-war  (physalia).  This  is  an 
oblong  animated  sack  of  air,  elongated  at  one  extremity 
into  a  conical  neck,  and  surmounted  by  a  membraneous 
expansion  running  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  body, 
and  rising  above  into  a  semicircular  sail,  which  can  be 
expanded  or  contracted  to  a  considerable  extent,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  animal.  From  beneath  the  body  are 
suspended  from  ten  to  fifty  or  more  little  tubes,  from 
half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length,  open  at  their  lower 
extremity,  and  formed  like  the  flower  of  the  blue  bottle. 
These  have  been  regarded  as  temporary  receptacles  for 
food,  like  the  first  stomach  of  cattle  ;  but  as  the  animal 
is  destitute  of  any  visible  mouth  or  alimentary  canal, 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  137 

and  as  I  have  frequently  seen  fish  in  their  cavities  ap- 
parently half  digested,  I  cannot  but  consider  them  as 
proper  stomachs;  nor  indeed  is  it  a  greater  paradox  in 
zoology  that  an  animal  should  possess  many  indepen- 
dent stomachs,  than  that  the  strange  carniverous  vege- 
table, the  saracinea,  should  make  use  of  its  leaves  appa- 
rently for  a  similar  purpose. 

From  the  centre  of  this  group  of  stomachs  depends  a 
little  cord,  never  exceeding  the  fourth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness,  and  often  forty  times  as  long  as  the  body. 

The  size  of  the  Portuguese  man-of-war  varies  from 
half  an  inch  to  six  inches  in  length.  When  it  is  in 
motion,  the  sail  is  accommodated  to  the  force  of  the 
breeze,  and  the  elongated  neck  is  curved  upward,  giving 
to  the  animal  a  form  strongly  resembling  the  little  glass 
swans  which  we  sometimes  see  swimming  in  goblets. 

It  is  not  the  form,  however,  whieh  constitutes  the 
chief  beauty  of  this  little  navigator.  The  lower  part  of 
the  body  and  the  neck  are  devoid  of  all  colour,  except  a 
faint  irridescence  in  reflected  lights,  and  they  are  so 
perfectly  transparent  that  the  finest  print  is  not  ob- 
scured when  viewed  through  them.  The  back  becomes 
gradually  tinged  as  we  ascend,  with  the  finest  and  most 
delicate  blue  that  can  be  imagined ;  the  base  of  the  sail 
equals  the  purest  sky  in  depth  and  beauty  of  tint ;  the 
summit  is  of  the  most  splendid  red,  and  the  central  part 
is  shaded  by  the  gradual  intermixture  of  these  colours 
through  all  the  intermediate  grades  of  purples.  Drawn 
12* 


138  REMINISCENCES  OF 

as  it  were  upon  a  ground-work  of  mist,  the  tints  have 
an  aerial  softness  far  beyond  the  reach  of  art,  and  war- 
ranting- the  seemingly  imaginative  description  given  at 
the  close  of  the  first  number. 

The  group  of  stomachs  is  less  transparent,  and  al- 
though the  hue  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  back,  they 
are,  on  this  account  incomparably  less  elegant.  By  their 
weight  and  form  they  fill  the  double  office  of  a  keel  and 
ballast,  while  the  cord-like  appendage,  which  floats  out 
for  yards  behind,  is  called  by  seamen  the  cable. 

The  mode  in  which  the  animal  secures  his  prey  has 
been  a  subject  of  much  speculation,  for  the  fish  and 
crabs  that  are  frequently  found  within  the  little  tubes, 
are  often  large  enough  to  tear  them  in  pieces  could  they 
retain  their  natural  vigour  during  the  contest.  De- 
ceived by  the  extreme  pain  which  is  felt  when  the  ca- 
ble is  brought  inter  contact  with  the  back  of  the  hand, 
naturalists  have  concluded,  I  think  too  hastily,  that  this 
organ  secretes  a  poisonous  or  acrid  fluid,  by  which  it 
benumbs  any  unfortunate  fish  or  other  animal  that  ven- 
tures within  its  toils,  allured  by  the  hope  of  making  a 
meal  upon  what,  in  its  ignorance,  it  has  mistaken  for  a 
worm.  The  secret  will  be  better  explained  by  a  more 
careful  examination  of  the  organ  itself.  The  chord  is 
composed  of  a  narrow  layer  of  contractile  fibres,  scarcely 
visible  when  relaxed,  on  account  of  its  transparency. 
If  the  animal  be  large,  this  layer  of  fibres  will  some- 
times extend  itself  to  the  length  of  four  or  five  yards.  A 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  1 39 

spiral  line  of  blue  bead-like  bodies,  less  than  the  head  of 
a  pin,  revolves  around  the  cable  from  end  to  end,  and 
under  the  microscope  these  beads  appear  covered  with 
minute  prickles,  so  hard  and  sharp,  that  they  will  rea- 
dily enter  the  substance  of  wood,  adhering  with  such 
pertinacity  that  the  cord  can  rarely  be  detached  without 
breaking. 

It  is  to  these  prickles  that  the  man-of-war  owes  its 
power  of  destroying  animals  much  its  superior  in 
strength  and  activity.  When  any  thing  becomes  im- 
paled upon  the  cord,  the  contractile  fibres  are  called 
into  action,  and  rapidly  shrink  from  many  feet  in  length 
to  less  than  the  same  number  of  inches,  bringing  the 
prey  within  reach  of  the  little  tubes,  by  one  of  which 
it  is  immediately  swallowed. 

This  weapon,  so  insignificant  in  appearance,  is  yet 
sufficiently  formidable  even  to  man.  I  had  once  the 
misfortune  to  become  entangled  with  the  cable  of  a  very 
large  man-of-war  while  swimming  in  the  open  ocean, 
and  amply  did  it  avenge  its  fellows,  who  now  sleep  in 
my  cabinet  robbed  at  once  of  life  and  beauty.  The 
pain  which  it  inflicted  was  almost  insupportable  for 
some  time,  nor  did  it  entirely  cease  for  twenty-four 
hours. 

I  might  now  proceed  to  describe  many  analogous  ani- 
mals scarcely  inferior  in  interest,  but  it  is  time  to  no- 
tice some  individuals  of  another  tribe,  residing  beneath 
the  surface,  and  therefore  less  generally  known. 


140  EEMINISCENCES  OF 

The  grandest  of  these  is  the  beroe.  In  size  and  form 
it  precisely  resembles  a  purse,  the  mouth,  or  orifice,  an- 
swering to  one  of  the  modern  metallic  clasps.  It  is 
perfectly  transparent,  and  in  order  to  distinguish  its 
filmy  outlines,  it  is  necessary  to  place  it  in  a  tumbler  of 
brine  held  between  the  observer  and  the  light.  In  cer- 
tain directions  the  whole  body  appears  faintly  irrides- 
cent,  but  there  are  several  longitudinal  narrow  lines 
which  reflect  the  full  rich  tints  of  the  rainbow  in  the 
most  vivid  manner,  for  ever  varying  and  mingling  the 
hues,  even  while  the  animal  remains  at  rest.  Under 
the  microscope  these  lines  display  a  succession  of  innu- 
merable coloured  scales  or  minute  fins,  which  are  kept 
unceasingly  in  motion,  thus  producing  the  play  of  co- 
lours by  continually  changing  the  angle  of  reflection. 

The  movements  of  the  beroe  are  generally  retrograde, 
and  are  not  aided  by  the  coloured  scales,  but  depend 
upon  the  alternate  contraction  and  dilatation  of  the 
mouth.  The  lips  are  never  perfectly  closed,  and  the 
little  fish  and  shrimps  which  play  around  them  are  con- 
tinually entering  and  leaving  them  at  pleasure.  The 
animal  is  dependent  for  its  food  upon  such  semi-anima- 
ted substances  as  it  draws  within  its  grasp  by  moving 
slowly  backwards  in  the  water,  and  retains  them  in  con- 
sequence of  their  own  feebleness  and  inability  to  escape 
the  weakest  of  snares. 

Another  tribe  of  the  sea-purses,  (salpa,)  though  much 
smaller  than  the  beroe,  are  more  complex  in  structure, 


A  VOYAGE  TO  I3DIA.  141 

and  possess  a  higher  interest  in  consequence  of  the  sin- 
gular habits  of  some  of  the  species.  They  are  double 
sacks,  resembling  the  beroc  in  general  form,  but  desti- 
tute of  irridescence. 

The  outer  sack,  or  mantle,  rarely  exceeds  an  inch  in 
length,  and  is  commonly  about  half  as  wide.  The  inner 
sack  is  much  smaller,  and  the  interval  between  these 
forms  a  cavity  for  the  water  which  they  breathe,  and 
for  some  of  the  viscera.  Their  visible  organs  are  a  trans- 
parent heart,  which  can  only  be  seen  in  the  strongest 
light ;  a  splendid  double  row  of  whitish  bead-like  cavities 
forming  a  spiral  line  near  one  extremity,  and  supposed 
to  be  either  lungs  or  ovaries;  numerous  broad,  flat, 
pearly  muscles,  barely  distinguished  by  their  mistiness, 
and  an  alimentary  canal  as  fine  as  horse-hair,  with  a 
slight  enlargement  at  one  spot,  which  has  been  called 
a  stomach.  This  enlargement  resembles  both  in  size 
and  colour  a  grain  of  sand.  From  the  base  of  the  ani- 
mal arises  two  longer  and  four  or  five  shorter  conical 
spines  of  jelly,  curved  into  hooks  at  the  points,  by  means 
of  which  numerous  individuals  attach  themselves  to- 
gether in  double  rows  like  the  leaflets  of  a  pinnated  leaf. 
Cords  of  this  kind,  composed  of  forty  or  fifty  animals, 
were  often  taken,  but  they  separate  and  reattach  them- 
selves at  pleasure. 

To  the  gregarious  habits  of  this  little  mollusque  we 
owe  a  very  singular  and  striking  phenomena,  which 
I  have  never  seen  noticed  by  naturalists,  although 


142  REMINISCENCES  OF 

we  frequently    witnessed  it  near   the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

The  animals  are  occasionally  found  associated  to- 
gether in  such  countless  myriads  that  the  sea  is  literally 
filled  with  them,  sometimes  over  three  or  four  square 
miles  of  surface,  and  to  the  depth  of  several  fathoms. 
The  yellow  spots  which  have  been  described,  being  the 
only  coloured  portions  of  their  body,  give  to  the  whole 
tract  the  appearance  of  a  shoal  or  sand  bank  at  some 
distance  below  the  surface.  The  deception  is  height- 
ened  by  the  greater  smoothness  of  the  water  at  these 
places,  particularly  in  calm  weather,  for  so  closely  are 
the  animals  crowded  together,  that  the  water  is  rendered 
in  a  manner  less  fluid  ;  the  smaller  billows  break  around 
the  margin  and  are  lost,  while  the  heavy  waves  of  the 
southern  ocean  are  somewhat  opposed  in  their  progress, 
and  take  on  in  a  slight  degree  the  usual  appearance  of 
the  ground  swell.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that 
many  of  the  numerous  shoals  laid  down  in  the  charts 
of  this  region,  but  which  have  never  been  seen  by  any 
but  the  supposed  discoverers,  have  been  immense  banks 
of  these  gregarious  molluscse.  In  sailing  through  a  tract 
of  this  description,  in  which  the  progress  of  the  ship 
was  very  sensibly  retarded,  I  have  dipt  up  with  the 
ship's  bucket  a  greater  bulk  of  the  animals  than  of  the 
water  in  which  they  were  suspended.  How  wonderful 
are  the  effects  produced  by  the  minute  links  of  creation  ! 

C. 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  143 

C.  wishes  those  of  his  friends  who  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  study  of  natural  history,  to  understand  dis- 
tinctly that  the  anatomical  and  chemical  terms  con- 
tained in  these  essays,  are  employed,  not  in  their 
scientific  but  in  their  popular  sense,  and  also  that  in 
drawing  the  organs  of  the  sal  pa  he  has  followed  La- 
marck and  Cuvier,  without  committing  himself  by  any 
opinions  upon  the  correctness  of  their  generic  descrip- 
tions, as  applicable  to  this  particular  species. 


144  REMINISCENCES  OF 


NO.  III. 

PHOSPHORESCENCE  OF  THE  OCEAN. 

As  the  glow-worm  and  the  fire-fly  enliven  the  night 
by  land,  so  do  many  of  the  mollusc®  and  other  marine 
animals  kindle  their  mimic  fires  by  sea — but  on  a  far 
grander  and  more  imposing  scale. 

If,  during  a  dark  night,  we  watch  attentively  the  ad- 
vance and  retreat  of  the  breakers  on  the  beach,  we  shall 
generally  perceive  the  crest  of  each  billow  to  be  illumi- 
nated by  a  faint  flash  at  the  moment  of  its  fall ;  and  after 
the  wave  subsides,  the  beach  will  be  spangled  with  mi- 
nute but  brilliant  specs,  which  shine  for  a  few  moments 
and  then  disappear.  These  lights  will  convey  an  idea 
of  what  is  meant  by  the  phosphorescence  of  the^ocean. 

At  all  times,  and  in  nearly  all  situations,  the  spray 
thrown  up  by  the  bow  of  the  vessel  is  thickly  strewed 
during  the  night  with  little  silvery  stars,  that  dance 
and  whirl  about  among  the  eddies,  until  they  are  lost 
in  the  distance.  These  luminous  particles  are  generally 
so  small  that  they  are  caught  with  difficulty,  and  so 
perfectly  transparent,  that  they  can  scarcely  be  distin- 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  145 

guished  from  the  drops  of  brine  adhering  to  the  net. 
Their  own  radiance,  by  which  they  are  visible  in  their 
native  element,  is  soon  lost  when  brought  into  the  air, 
for  it  ceases  instantly  on  the  death  of  the  animal.  The 
few  specimens  which  I  have  examined  were  either  gela- 
tinous molluscse  or  microscopic  shrimps ;  the  former 
being  luminous  throughout  their  entire  substance,  and 
the  latter,  like  the  glow-worm,  emitting  an  intermittent 
light  from  a  lantern  near  the  tail. 

Such  were  the  appearances  noticed  in  most  parts  of 
the  North  Atlantic  Ocean,  excepting  the  Gulf  stream. 
The  fretful  waves  of  this  region,  vexed  as  it  is  by  per- 
petual squalls,  appear  to  be  wrapped  in  total  darkness. 
But  in  the  tropical  regions,  and  throughout  the  vast  ex- 
panse of  the  Southern  and  Indian  Oceans,  the  grandeur 
and  sublimity  of  the  night  scene  were  often  beyond 
description.  The  vivid  hues  of  "  the  double  headed 
shot  clouds,"  which  rise  like  immense  mountains  from 
the  water  of  the  western  horizon,  seemed  to  fade  into 
twilight  only  to  give  place  to  a  still  more  beautiful  illu- 
mination in  the  bosom  of  the  waves.  The  bow  of  the 
vessel  scattered  far  around  a  blaze  of  light,  which  shone 
brilliantly  under  the  brightest  moon,  and  was  often  suffi- 
ciently intense  to  enable  us  to  read  upon  the  deck. 
Leaning  over  the  stern,  our  track  resembled  a  vast 
trough  of  fire,  studded  with  innumerable  floating  lanterns 
and  stars,  such  as  fall  from  an  exploding  sky-rocket.  In 
the  eddies,  the  whirling  of  these  bodies  produced  long 
13 


1  46  REMINISCENCES  OF 

streams  of  light  like  serpents  drawn  in  flame,  and  oc- 
casionally immense  globes  of  fire  would  roll  along  be- 
neath the  keel,  at  the  depth  of  several  fathoms,  yet  so 
intensely  bright  that  the  little  rudder  fish  were  distinctly 
visible  sporting  beneath  the  cabin  windows.  These 
globes  are  generally  as  large  as  a  flour  barrel,  and  ac- 
cording to  Peron  and  Lesueur,  they  are  sometimes  seen 
to  reach  the  enormous  diameter  of  twenty  feet.  I  had 
once  the  gratification  to  observe  one  of  these  animals 
within  a  foot  of  the  surface.  It  was  a  medusa,  large 
enough  to  fill  a  bushel  basket,  visible  in  every  fibre  by 
its  own  illumination. 

At  these  times  the  crest  of  every  wave  resembles  a 
long  line  of  ignited  phosphorus,  and  every  dip  of  the 
oar,  or  plunge  of  the  bucket,  produces  a  flash  of  light, 
and  scatters  scintillations  on  every  side.  Even  the 
larger  fish,  when  they  approach  the  vessel,  are  followed 
by  a  luminous  path  like  the  tail  of  a  comet,  and  they 
are  often  struck  with  the  harpoon,  guided  by  this  ap- 
pearance alone. 

The  sea  at  times  resembles  a  field  of  snow  or  milk, 
and  Peron  asserts  that  it  is  often  tinged  with  prismatic 
colours,  vary  ing  at  every  moment ;  but  these  phenomena 
were  not  witnessed  in  our  voyage. 

The  strangest  of  all  the  modes  in  which  the  phospho- 
rescence of  the  ocean  is  exhibited,  was  witnessed  near 
the  island  of  Tristan  D'Acunha,  under  circumstances 
too  impressive  to  be  forgotten. 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  147 

The  night  was  dark  and  damp,  and  the  breeze  too 
light  to  steady  the  vessel.  She  rolled  heavily  over  the 
waves,  making  it  difficult  for  a  landsman  to  walk  the 
deck.  A  fog  bank,  which  hung  around  the  northern 
horizon  at  sunset,  now  swept  slowly  down  towards  us. 
The  captain  ordered  the  light  sails  furled  in  expectation 
of  a  squall,  and  we  stood  leaning  together  over  the  rail, 
watching  the  mist,  which  approached  more  and  more 
rapidly,  till  it  resembled,  in  the  increasing  darkness,  an 
immense  wall  extending  from  the  water  to  the  clouds, 
and  seemed  threatening  to  crush  us  beneath  it.  Just  at 
this  moment,  a  flash,  like  a  broad  sheet  of  lightning, 
spread  itself  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach — five  or  six  times,  at  intervals  of  a  few 
seconds,  the  flash  was  repeated,  and  then  the  vessel  was 
enveloped  in  the  fog.  The  breeze  quickened — the  bustle 
of  preparation  attracted  the  attention  of  every  one,  and 
in  a  few  moments  we  were  bounding  along  at  the  rate 
of  ten  miles  arfhour,  over  waves  sparkling  in  the  clear 
moonshine,  but  the  "  lightning  of  the  waters"  had 
ceased.  I  have  always  regretted  that  I  did  not  ascer- 
tain by  what  animal  this  most  singular  phenomenon 
was  produced,  but  the  wild  interest  of  the  scene  ban- 
ished every  thought  of  the  kind.  In  the  course  of  the 
night  we  passed  through  several  beds  of  the  salpa,  and 
it  is  very  probable  that  the  flashes  were  produced  by 
these  little  creatures,  induced,  by  a  wonderful  instinct, 
to  act  in  concert  for  some  inscrutable  purpose. 


148  REMINISCENCES  OF 

There  are  few  phenomena  in  nature  which  have  led 
to  a  greater  diversity  of  opinion  among  modern  men  of 
science,  than  the  luminous  appearance  of  the  ocean  dur- 
ring  the  night.  Some  have  regarded  it  as  the  effect  of 
electricity,  produced  by  the  friction  of  the  waves  ;  others 
as  the  product  of  a  species  of  fermentation  in  the  water, 
occurring  accidentally  in  certain  places.  Many  have 
attributed  it  to  the  well  known  phosphorescence  of  pu- 
trid fish,  or  to  the  decomposition  of  their  slime  and 
exuvia,  and  a  few  only  to  the  real  cause — the  voluntary 
illumination  of  many  distinct  species  of  marine  animals, 
generally  analogous  to  the  tribes  which  were  described 
in  the  former  number  of  these  Reminiscences.  Even 
those  authors  who  have  acknowledged  the  agency  of 
animal  life  in  producing  this  wonderful  appearance,  have 
been  in  a  manner  compelled,  by  its  universality,  and  by 
the  almost  incredible  multiplication  of  beings  which  it 
infers,  to  aomit  the  probable  co-operation  of  other 


My  own  observation  has  led  to  the  conclusion,  that 
the  phosphoresence  of  the  ocean  is  due  solely  to  the  pe- 
culiar instinct  of  the  molluscae,  and  some  genera  of  the 
Crustacea. 

The  electrical  hypothesis  is  certainly  fallacious,  for 
were  we  even  to  grant  the  possibility  of  producing  an 
electric  light  in  an  agitated  fluid,  which  is  itself  an  im- 
perfect conductor,  similar  to  that  occasioned  by  the  at- 
trition of  white  sugar  or  glass  in  the  dark,  the  acknow- 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  149 

ledged  physical  law,  that  like  causes  produce  like 
effects,  would  lead  us  to  expect  an  uniform  diffusion  of 
the  phosphoresence  over  a  considerable  extent  of  water 
under  the  same  latitude  and  longitude ;  but  this  is  not 
the  case.  A  ship  will  often  be  enveloped  for  a  few  mo- 
ments in  so  bright  an  illumination  that  a  book  may  be 
read  upon  the  deck,  and  at  the  next  instant  she  may  be 
involved  in  almost  total  darkness.  Again,  electricity 
is  eliminated  with  the  greatest  facility  in  a  cold  and 
dry  atmosphere ;  but  the  phosphorescence  of  the  ocean 
is  most  considerable  in  tropical  climates,  nor  is  it  dimin- 
ished by  storms  or  rain.  The  supposition  of  a  fermen- 
tation of  the  surface  is  equally  unsatisfactory,  for  such 
a  process  would  lead  to  an  equable  diffusion  of  light  over 
the  whole  space  in  which  it  acted.  But  the  luminous 
matter  is  almost  always  seen  in  distinct  masses  or  par- 
ticles ;  and  the  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  which  have 
been  observed,  do  not  admit  of  an  explanation  according 
to  the  known  effects  of  fermentation.  The  light  elimi- 
nated by  putrid  fish  furnishes  a  more  plausible  theory, 
but  the  very  wide  extent  of  the  illumination,  is,  of  itself, 
sufficient  to  prove  its  incorrectness.  It  has  been  already 
shown  to  what  an  incalculable  amount  the  living  inha- 
bitants of  the  ocean  increase,  but  the  reverse  is  true  of 
the  dead.  The  air  and  the  water  swarm  with  innume- 
rable depurators,  who  devour  every  thing  that  dies, 
whether  beneath  the  surface  or  upon  it.  The  albatross, 
the  stormy  petrel,  the  Cape  pigeon,  some  of  the  gulls, 


150  REMINISCENCES  OF 

and  other  marine  fowls,  which  are  constantly  soaring 
by  thousands  over  every  sea,  seize  upon  all  unprotected 
animals,  dead  or  living,  which  remain  within  their 
reach.  The  three  former  birds  will  follow  the  ship  for 
days  during  calm  weather,  to  share  the  offals  thrown 
over  by  the  cook  ;  and  so  ravenous  is  their  appetite,  that 
they  are  frequently  caught  with  the  hook  and  line  baited 
with  meat,  and  trolled  in  the  wake  of  the  vessel.  I  have 
frequently  seen  them  bathing  their  feathers  in  the 
grease  which  floats  around  the  refuse  of  the  camboose, 
and  skimming  it  up  with  their  spoon-shaped  bills  with 
every  demonstration  of  pleasure.  Those  bodies  that 
sink  by  their  gravity  fall  a  prey  to  the  fish,  and  those 
that  are  too  minute  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
larger  animals,  are  speedily  devoured  by  the  molluscse. 
Thus  the  waters  are  preserved  in  a  high  degree  of  pu- 
rity, and  probably  there  does  not  remain  sufficient  pu- 
trescent  matter  in  a  cubic  league  of  water  to  render 
luminous  a  cubic  yard.  In  passing  over  an  extent  of 
ocean  greater  than  the  whole  circumference  of  the 
earth,  I  did  not  see  a  single  dead  animal  of  any  kind. 

The  purpose  for  which  this  phosphorescence  is  de- 
signed, is  lost  in  conjecture;  but  when  we  recollect  that 
fish  are  attracted  to  the  net  by  the  lights  of  the  fisher- 
men, and  that  many  of  the  marine  shells  are  said  to  leave 
their  native  element  to  crawl  around  a  fire  built  upon  the 
beach,  are  we  not  warranted  in  supposing  that  the  ani- 
mals of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  are  provided 


A  VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  151 

with  their  luminous  properties,  in  order  to  entice  their 
prey  within  their  grasp  ? 

In  quitting  the  subject  of  the  minute  animals  of  the 
ocean,  I  should  not  neglect  to  refer  the  curious  to  three 
engravings  in  the  volume  of  plates  to  the  Voyage  aux 
Terres  Australes,  by  Peron  and  Lesueur,  where  may  be 
seen  the  happiest  efforts  of  the  pencil  in  delineating 
some  of  these  interesting  beings.  The  work  is  con- 
tained in  the  Philadelphia  library,  and  will  amply  repay 
the  trouble  of  a  visit.  C. 


FfNIS. 


